Push and Pull
by icallitfunny
Summary: Owen is hired as the Head of Trauma at Seattle Grace after his third tour. Takes place end of Season 2 after Burke gets shot. C/O story of how they eventually end up finding each other. Mentions of all essential Grey's characters.
1. Chapter 1

*Again and Again: As long as I have Erin, Kevin's Biggest Fan and Milee reading this story, I promise I will update and see the story to end of Season 5!

*Zoe and Zach: The story was mainly written to let everyone know the sex and names of the twins. I would love to continue the story as well. Any family CO stories written by me will be a continuation of Zoe and Zach.

*Finally, regarding this story, I've always wondered what it would have been like for Cristina to meet Owen 'in the before.' So this story takes place at the end of Season 2, after Burke gets shot. Cristina and Burke's story will follow true to the show. I am throwing Owen in the Season 3 mix and will create his story. This chapter is quite detailed but the story will breeze through Season 3 once I have everyone acquainted with the plot. Give it a shot and let me know if I have your attention. Thanks!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"What happened?" Owen stormed into the ER immediately after receiving the 911 page.

"Sho-ooting. Dr. Bu-urke. Shot. With a gun," stammered Nurse Rebby.

Owen ran as fast as his legs would allow to the ambulance bay to find Miranda applying pressure to the gunshot wound. "Dr. Hunt!" Miranda cried out in relief.

"Christ," cursed Owen. "Keep applying pressure, Dr. Bailey. Is there an exit wound?" shouted Owen as he knelt in front of Burke. "Dr. Burke, stay with me!" instructed Owen as he saw Burke coming back and blinking, trying to register his surroundings. It took three men to place Burke on the gurney. "Get him into Trauma 1!" ordered Owen.

* * *

"Chief? How bad is it? It looks bad," Cristina ran into Richard in the ER, exuding excitement from the incoming trauma. "I'm here. I can help. If there's anything surgical, I can help."

Richard took in the excitement for a brief second before making the connection that her loved one was laying in front of the hospital, bleeding out from a GSW. He needed her to stay away until he could get a clear understanding of what just happened to his number one attending. "Why don't you go run Trauma 2, Dr. Yang? Find me if you need help. And get consults," instructed Richard, making sure to keep Cristina occupied and away from the chaos of it all.

"I'm on it!" Cristina ran off in pure excitement.

/

"Don't take your hand off," ordered Owen as he pushed his way through in the crowded ER. "Chief!" he called out to Richard.

"You have got to be kidding me," exclaimed Richard in disbelief. "What the hell happened?" Richard's voice boomed throughout the ER.

"You're asking me?" responded Owen. "Quite the initiation I'm getting here at Seattle Grace."

"Well, welcome to Seattle Grace Hospital, Dr. Hunt," answered Richard as he guided the doctors into Trauma 1.

* * *

"Hey wait," Miranda gently pushed down Burke from the gurney.

"I'm fine," Burke stubbornly got up.

"No, you're not," refuted Owen as he forcibly pushed Burke back down on the gurney. "The bullet's still lodged, we don't know what's going on inside. Stay still."

"I'm fine. Let go. I'm fine!" Burke called out in disorientation. "I have a patient that I have to go check on."

"Patient?" questioned Owen in frustration. "_You_ are the patient. Lay down! You've lost a lot of blood." Owen noted Burke's limp right hand.

Burke held Owen's stern gaze as he laid back down on the gurney. "And you are…?"

It did not escape Owen that they were already introduced, twice. First time was a formal introduction and second time was over an argument they had over the course of treatment for Mrs. Lee this morning. They also sat together at the attendings table at lunch and Burke made quite a point earlier in the day that he was right the day before. Owen raised his eyebrow as he replied, "Dr. Hunt. I run Trauma here."

Richard calmly said to Miranda, "Page Shepherd."

* * *

"Take over compressions." Cristina released her hands and doubled blinked, making sure she was not conjuring up the image of Burke laying on a gurney in Trauma 1. She purposely made her way around and brusquely opened the door. "You're shot?" calmly asked Cristina.

Owen looked up from the wound as the door burst opened revealing the Asian doctor with the headful of unruly ebony curls. He distinctly remembered her sitting at the interns' table during lunch.

"He's shot?" Cristina asked once again, this time in a more alarmed voice.

"Yang, we got it," assured Miranda.

"It's okay," also assured Richard.

"That guy shot you," panic and anger flashed in Cristina's face as she turned away just as quickly as she entered Trauma 1.

Owen took in the expressions of concern, panic, shock and anger that flashed in a span of one second on the intern's face. He was sure she was an intern and from his minimal introduction at Seattle Grace, she was the best intern in her year. Intern who was an overachiever with the attending who was highly regarded as arguably the best attending on staff? No, he quickly dismissed the notion. Couldn't be more than a doctor being concerned for another doctor, which was completely understandable. But he couldn't help but question his interest in the intern's expressions.

* * *

"Entry upper right shoulder. Could be lodged in the spine," informed Owen to Derek upon his entrance.

"Dr. Burke?" asked Derek. "The bullet is in dangerous property here. We need to check your hand function. Try and squeeze my fingers, okay?"

Owen, Derek and Richard all held in their breaths as Burke directed his energy to his hand. His right hand was limp against Derek's hold and stood still. Outlook was grim.

"They moved my guy upstairs," announced Cristina as she entered the room once again. "How is he?" she asked.

"Wait outside," softly advised Miranda.

This time the concern was too obvious for Owen to miss. He quickly picked up how all the doctors were careful when talking to Cristina about Burke. Cristina and Burke were an item, he concluded and shook his head in disapproval at the unprofessional nature of the romantic relationship between an intern and an attending.

"I'm not going to wait outside. Burke?" Cristina pushed through the doctors and reached out to softly grab Burke's right hand.

"Can we have a moment?" Burke asked Derek to clear the room for him and Cristina.

"Only a moment," answered Owen. "We need to find out what is going on. I don't want to waste any time, okay?" Owen made it a point that Cristina met his eyes.

Cristina gave a silent nod of the head and leaned towards Burke as the room cleared out.

Once outside, Owen quickly pulled out his Blackberry and promptly texted Beth. "Trauma just came in. Sorry won't be home tonight." He pressed send and shut his phone off for the night.

* * *

"Shepherd, uh doesn't know if he can fix my hand," Burke pensively spoke. "Maybe I'll wait it out. See if this numbness subsides," stated Burke, fully knowing this hope was fruitless.

"Yeah," Cristina whispered.

"Or I can let Shepherd operate," Burke stated more rationally.

"Yeah, yeah." Cristina was not sure what she was agreeing to. The implications of either options were too true and frightening.

"I could lose all hand function." Burke stated what Cristina could not say with words but clearly screamed with her scared eyes. "What if I can never operate again?" asked Burke in a shaky voice.

"Yeah." Once again, Cristina agreed to something that had no solution.

"I nee-ed," a strangled voice came out of Burke. "I need…" Burke tried again. "You said you were here. For me." Burked needed Cristina's affirmation she was still there with him. "Cristina… I need you to tell me… what you think I should do." He needed her now more than ever. For once, he needed her to tell him how to move forward with his life. He couldn't take the step so he needed Cristina to take it for him.

Cristina froze. The lump she tried swallowing grew twice its size and was forcing its way up. Any words spoken at this point would just end up in loud sobs. There was no answer she could give Burke. Not now at least.

"I…" Cristina choked out. She diverted her attention to his monitor. She tore her eyes from Burke's broken eyes. "I-I told Dr. Bailey that I would be back." She was running away. Just for now until she had an answer for Burke. "Okay? I-I told her that I wouldn't be long. I'm going to think about it, okay?" Cristina hurried her words and rushed out of the room. She turned the corner and ran into the closest on-call room she could find. She ran in and locked the door behind her and let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding in.

/

Owen found a dark on-call room to take a breather before Burke made up his mind about surgery. It was only his second day at Seattle Grace and already he was mired in a shooting. He thought he had left it all in the desert. Apparently, fate seemed to always bring him in the center of the chaos. He twisted his band around his finger, feeling guilty for his lack of involvement in the planning of the wedding. The last two times Beth tried to get Owen to talk about the wedding, he had brushed her off stating he was tired. Even when he was not tired, the idea of wedding drained all the energy from his body. He knew he was pushing and felt heavy guilt.

Without preamble, the door opened ajar flooding bright hospital light into the dark on-call room. Owen instinctively leaned back at seeing the intruder. Cristina, the intern he had noticed his first day, closed and locked the door so quickly she failed to notice Owen was occupying the lower bunk. She leaned against the door and exhaled a sigh so heavy Owen could not help but be dragged down as well.

Cristina took several short breaths to fill her lungs with air. She inhaled large amounts of oxygen to get blood back in her brain. She needed to think. Despite her breaths coming back to normal and brain finally processing some thoughts, she could not prevent the tears from forming. The damned tears had a mind of its own.

Owen, surprised at the unlikely intruder, kept his silence. Although Cristina was the one to barge in an occupied room, Owen felt as if _he_ was the intruder in the room. He kept quiet not wanting to scare her. But once he saw the tears flowing freely down her delicate face, he could no longer pretend he was a ghost in the room.

"_Ahem_," Owen cleared his throat as gently as he could.

Cristina flinched at the sudden noise and blinked her tears away to locate the source of the noise. _'Crap'_ she thought as her eyes focused on Dr. Hunt sitting on the lower bunk. "Ss-sorry, Dr. Hunt," muttered Cristina. "I-I thought the room was empty," said Cristina, although she realized she never even bothered to check. "Sorry."

"Don't be," quickly offered Owen. "Seems like you need the room more than I do." Owen tried to lighten up the mood.

Cristina turned her body to leave the room when she was stopped by Owen's question. "So has Dr. Burke made his decision?" asked Owen.

"No. Not yet," answered Cristina. She unlocked the door but before she could gather strength to leave the room she couldn't help but turn around to meet Owen's imploring eyes. "Y-you… you've seen many GSW cases," Cristina rationalized, aware of Owen's military background. "You are Bur- Dr. Burke's doctor so you've seen his films. What's… your take?" she couldn't help but ask the doctor she barely knew but strangely felt he could provide the answer for her.

"My experience tells me GSWs vary case by case. And I am his doctor, I am not allowed to make decisions for the patient," replied Owen. He wanted to strictly be the doctor in this case.

"Fine," answered Cristina. "Then from one doctor to one another. What is the probability of regaining movement without surgery?"

"Dr. Burke has a pseudo aneurysm in the subclavian artery. He's already feeling numbness so the damage has already been done. Wait a few days, risk the aneurysm getting bigger, which can spread the numbness to his whole hand." Owen stated the mere facts to Dr. Burke's case. "Dr. Shepherd can do the surgery. Relieve the compression on the nerves." This was the most he could offer to the scared intern in front of him. Mere facts but this was enough, he was sure, for the smart intern.

Cristina knew the science too well to argue with Owen about the complications that could arise during surgery. There were always risks involved. No matter what. She nodded. "Thank you, Dr. Hunt," she replied.

"You're welcome, Dr. Yang," answered Owen as he glanced at Cristina's backside before the door closed and darkness once again took over the room. The scene that took place before him made the small on-call room feel strangely vast, like an open meadow unexpectedly struck by a flash of lightning from the cackling sky. But just as quickly as the lightning struck, it was even quicker to leave, leaving Owen with an uneasy feeling he could not place. He turned his phone on to check in with Beth, somehow hoping that that would relax the tension in his body.


	2. Chapter 2

*Chapters are written based on the assumption that you all know what is going on between Cristina and Burke in Season 3. I'm not really going to write out their interactions unless it is relevant to Owen's story, which I am creating. Feel free to ask if anything is unclear or confusing. Thanks for the reviews and hope you enjoy!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"Hello stranger." Beth looked up from the pile of papers she was grading to bitterly greet Owen.

Owen threw his keys on the shoe cabinet and shrugged his olive green jacket off his slumped shoulders. "Hey," he quietly returned the greeting. On the dining table was Owen's now cold dinner. His eyes glazed over to the sink to find a stack of dirty plates. "Sorry I missed dinner," apologized Owen.

Beth remained silent. She was seething inside at Owen's dismissive behavior since he had been back from Iraq. Owen took this silence to take a seat at the dining table and picked up a forkful of cold pasta.

Beth sighed as she got up from the couch. "Heat it up. The food's been out since 7." It was now 10.

"I don't care," said Owen with a shrug and pulled the plate back from Beth's hands. "I mean. Food is food, and I'm hungry." He glanced at Beth and saw her tight facial expression. "Pasta's still good," he offered to appease Beth.

Beth took a seat besides Owen and took a long hard look at Owen. "I've seen less of you since you've been back than I would when you're home from leave."

"I'm the new Head of Trauma at one of Seattle's busiest hospital. I'm still the new guy there," answered Owen as he stuffed another bite of the starchy pasta.

"What, the Head of Trauma can't even bother to call his fiancé? You guys are that busy over there?" resentfully asked Beth. Her initial elated thoughts of spending her nights with Owen after 3 years of separation quickly heaped into a large pile of frustration as Owen more often than not chose to spend his nights at the hospital.

Beth was right. Owen could have picked up his phone more to fill her in on what was going on at the hospital. He took a large swig of his beer. "Sorry Beth. Cut me some slack here. Head of Cardio was shot last week and two doctors are away on vacation. I'm being asked to pick up their shifts. I promise, once I get settled in, things will change."

Owen's tense face and bloodshot eyes were enough to convince Beth to let this conversation go. "Okay," she softly responded as she went back to the couch to finish grading her students' homework.

Owen finished the remaining clumps of pasta in two large mouthfuls and went over to the couch with his beer. "Show me what the kids are learning these days," he requested, hoping for to loosen Beth up.

Beth smiled and swung her legs over Owen's thigh as she grabbed the paper to show the students' work. Owen nodded along Beth's words but found his mind drifting far, far away. A stack of wedding magazines came into view from his peripheral vision. A throbbing headache immediately followed, drowning out Beth's words into a loud garble of sounds.

* * *

"How's Dr. Burke doing?" asked Izzie while taking a seat at their usual lunch table.

"Great! Burke and his chickens are getting along so well. Fine, just fine," wryly answered Cristina as she stabbed her salad with her fork.

"Hey, take it easy on him. Burke's just trying to get back to where he was before all this-" Meredith waved wide circles with the fork in the air, "-happened."

"Oh, easy for you to say. You're not the one with skinned chickens on the kitchen counter. First thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to bed. Chicken is coming out of my nose and ears," complained Cristina. She felt her fork poke through a tough texture. "No!" she cried out. "Tell me this _isn't _chicken," she waved a fork with a chicken cube in the gang's faces. "Tofu! I asked for tofu!"

"It's not chicken," calmly responded George as he loudly sipped on his juice. "It may look like one and taste like one but nope, definitely not chicken."

"Grr…" Cristina pushed her salad aside.

"Well if you're not having the non-chicken chicken salad, it's mine Yang," said Alex as he grabbed the deserted salad.

Cristina rose from the table to get herself a non-chicken sandwich. She entered the food area and spotted a lone sandwich from afar. She picked up her pace but as she drew closer, a large masculine hand snatched the sandwich. She followed the hand that had claimed her prize and met a pair of electric blue eyes. She eyed back at the sandwich now in possession of Owen's hands.

"Does this have your name on it, Dr. Yang?" Owen playfully asked.

'_Ass,'_ thought Cristina. _'He knew I was going for that sandwich and he still took it.' _"No," coolly answered Cristina. "I can find something else."

"So you don't want it?" Owen pushed the sandwich towards Cristina.

Cristina narrowed her eyes to get a better look at the contents of the sandwich. She couldn't tell. "Only if it's chicken."

Confused and bewildered by her question, he reflexively asked, "Huh? Are you allergic to chicken?"

"Is anyone allergic to chicken?" mocked Cristina.

"Well, I'm sure poultry allergy exists," answered Owen as a loud voice yelled, _'what the hell are you babbling about?'_ inside his head. He shook his head and checked the sandwich. "It's turkey."

"Okay, I want it then," replied Cristina as she opened her palm for Owen to place the food in her hand.

"Guess you don't have poultry allergy," said Owen with a sparkle in his eyes and dropped it in Cristina's small palm.

Cristina's eyes zoned in on the thick band on Owen's ring finger. _'Hm, married. Wouldn't have guessed,'_ she thought as she replied, "No, I just hate chicken. For now." Cristina did not forget to mention, "Thank you Dr. Hunt."

"You're welcome, Dr. Yang," Owen formally accepted Cristina's gratitude and loudly chuckled at the interaction with the quirky intern as he made his way to the other food stations.

* * *

"Dr. Hunt. Mind if I join you?" asked Mark as he pulled up a seat next to Owen at the bar.

"Course not," Owen motioned Joe for Mark's order. "On me," he raised his glass and took a sip of the scotch.

"Thanks man. Looks like you know your drinks, I'll have what he's having," complimented Mark. "So what, no one waiting for you at home? What calls you here tonight?"

"It's been a long day," responded Owen, deliberately dogging Mark's first half of his question. He was assigned to a lung transplant that took 8 hours to complete due to complications in surgery. And he stopped by the gallery to catch a glimpse of Dr. Burke and Dr. Yang's coronary bypass. Now he was just purely drained and exhausted. "And you?"

"No place I'd rather be on a Friday night other than Joe's," answered Mark.

Owen agreed. Joe's was the perfect way to wind down after a long day. It was comfortable, with familiar faces, Joe, the bartender, was warm and treated the customers as if they were guests visiting his house. He relaxed considerably when at Joe's.

"So how's your second month at the loony bin?" asked Mark. "You can be honest. I'm one of the newest doctors here as well."

"Oh, are you?" Owen was surprised. He knew Mark was best friends with Derek and often caught Mark and Addison deep in conversation. "It's good. Bit dramatic, soap opera-ish at times but definitely keeping me on my toes."

As Owen finished his response, the door to Joe's jingled as the gang of the troublesome interns stepped inside the bar. Mark and Owen's head turned to meet the newcomers. "Uh oh, here comes the Fab Five," joked Mark.

"Yeah," agreed Owen. "Something tells me they are always up to no good."

"Hell yeah. Cutting LVAD wires, sleeping with the attendings, spreading syphilis throughout the whole hospital," babbled Mark. "Take my advice and stay away Hunt. Especially from the three ladies. They will pull you in, suck everything out of you and hang you out to dry. Just take a look at Derek, Burke and Denny. And one died. You have been warned."

Owen's eyes trailed the interns to their table. He had a direct view of the whole group. "Their personal lives are definitely tabloid worthy, but I think professional wise, they are a good group."

"Yeah, there's a couple of good ones in there," agreed Mark. "But more importantly, which one's your type?" asked Mark.

"Haha," laughed Owen. "None. I don't think of the doctors in that way."

"Aw, c'mon. We're not doctors right now," Mark pressed on. "We are two single men, drinking at the bar, together mind you, staring at three very beautiful ladies. You have your chirpy blondie, the twisted emo doll and the feisty hot Asian. Which one?"

Owen laughed and took a large swig of his scotch. "It's wrong we're even having this conversation."

"Fine, I'll make it easy for you. You have a girl?" asked Mark.

Owen silently nodded.

"Describe her," demanded Mark.

Owen thought before speaking. "Blond, blue eyes. Second grade teacher. Nice, swee-"

Mark cut Owen off before he could go on any further. "Yang. You are SO Yang."

"What?" Owen called out in surprise. His heart skipped a beat. He did think Cristina was the most beautiful out of the three doctors.

"Ah, too easy man," ribbed Mark. "You want something you don't have. Or rather, can't have. Us men are made up of the same materials and we are simple, my man." Mark toasted his drink, finished it in one gulped and motioned Joe for a second round, this time on Mark.

But it was not that Beth and Cristina were different. No, that was not the attraction. Cristina's laugh tugged at Owen. Her concentration at work was admirable; never once in his career did he find himself respecting and admiring an intern. Her snarky comments made Owen want to burst out laughing. But no way in hell was he going to admit this to Mark. Letting his thoughts out made them real; he was going to bury them in a deep place. Owen quickly moved on with the conversation and asked, "So who would you go for?"

/

"Shouldn't you be sitting with the attendings, Yang? Or go home to Burke and specially thank him for all the surgeries you are scrubbing in on?" asked Alex as the group took a seat at the table.

"Get your head out of the gutter Evil Spawn," Cristina remarked as she quickly motioned for Joe to take their order. "I'm scrubbing in because I'm just better than you. Don't hate because you can't be me."

"You are scrubbing in a lot lately," quietly observed George.

"Oh, cut it out guys," quipped Meredith. "Burke probably feels grateful towards Cristina for being there for him. He's just being a good boyfriend. It's not like we're not scrubbing in on other surgeries."

"Hm, maybe I should learn from you two and sleep with an attending. How about the new attending, Dr. Hunt?" asked Izzie.

"Yeah, sure beats sleeping with a patient," dryly remarked Alex as he stood up to leave. "Looks like girl talk is starting. Look George, nurses are at the bar. Gettin' me some tonight." George and Alex left the table and made their way to the bar.

"Dr. Hunt," Meredith eyed the new attending sitting with Mark. "He's hot in that scruffy, rugged, rough you up in bed kind of way."

"Yeah, he looks like he'll be good in bed," Izzie agreed.

"Ha, you have no chance with Ginger. He's married," informed Cristina.

"Married? Oh, dammit." Izzie grumbled in disappointment and sipped her cranberry vodka.

"Wait, how do you know that?" inquired Meredith.

"Why do you know that?" chimed in Izzie.

"He has a band on his ring finger," Cristina replied without thinking.

"Oh…" Meredith took a long look at Owen. "Wait a minute… Izzie we're asking the wrong question here. Why are you checking his ring finger?" slyly asked Meredith.

"Because we have something called eyes we use to see things," dryly answered Cristina.

"So you always check whether or not doctors have rings on their fingers?" teased Izzie. "I think someone _noticed_ it. Burke won't be too happy about this."

"Shut it. Stop making a deal out of nothing." Cristina sighed as she was in no mood to joke about Burke or the new attending. All she wanted was one drink to relax herself before going home to Burke.

Meredith saw Cristina was irritated. "Well, we have to give him a McName. Not McGinger or McArmy. Too obvious."

"How about McCristina'sCrush?" incessantly teased Izzie.

Cristina shot Izzie a death grill and turned to her drink. As she raised her eyes away from the drink, she was startled to meet Owen's electric gaze from across the room. She quickly turned away feeling uncomfortable with the unexpected meeting of the eyes.

"Izzie you're onto something. He's married, off the market, but he is free to look." Meredith exclaimed in excitement, "I got it– McCrush!"

"Well, you two can stay here and crush on him all you want. I'm going home to my boyfriend who is way too cool to have a McName." Cristina left her unfinished drink at the table and hurriedly left Joe's, still a bit flustered from Owen's lingering gaze.


	3. Chapter 3

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"It's daddy's birthday next month. You didn't forget, did you?" Beth asked over dinner.

Owen chewed the meatloaf and washed it down with beer as he shook his head. "No, I remember. Does he want anything in particular?"

"Your presence at his birthday gathering?" guessed Beth. "Everyone's been asking where you are these days. I gave you a month notice, you better get that Saturday off."

"Okay, okay." Owen mentally made a note to check his schedule tomorrow. "But what should I get him?"

"You showing up with a date will be the best present ever, trust me," calmly answered Beth.

It was common for Beth to bring up the wedding topic at least once a week. But never did she push Owen further with the conversation. She never confronted, merely poked about an impending wedding that had to be planned. Owen kept his silence.

Beth sighed. "You know what daddy likes more than I do. Get him tickets to the Seagulls or something."

"Hawks," mumbled Owen as he popped the slab of meatloaf in his already full mouth.

* * *

The gossip mill was running on full speed at Seattle no matter how much Owen wanted to avoid the happenings and focus on work. It was impossible not to turn a corner to the words of _Yang_, _Burke_, _tremor_, _intern_, _attending_, and _favors_.

Owen officially decided Seattle Grace could easily win The Daytime Emmy Awards. In fact, it could even go down in history as the best soap ever. He was convinced it was impossible for one to come up with a plot like this even if they tried. An attending hiding tremors on his operating hand with the help of his intern girlfriend performing _his_ procedures right under the noses of everyone at the hospital? The intern girlfriend coming clean to the Chief with the attending to follow minutes after? And cue. He wondered how the next scene was going to play out.

At first he was heavily bothered by the fact that they could have easily put a patient at risk. But that anger subsided as he and everyone else knew they never made a mistake in the OR. Dr. Burke would have not trusted Dr. Yang if her skills were any less than perfect and the damn smart intern covered Dr. Burke's procedures with the skills equivalent of an attending. Their actions were carefully thought out, despite the question of morals and ethics.

Then disappointment consumed his thoughts as he thought about the intern and her actions. What in the world was she thinking agreeing to perform his surgeries? He knew Dr. Yang was the best in her program. Was it hubris? Was it to get a chance to scrub in on cool surgeries? And then he pensively asked himself, _'was it for love?'_

After the storm had died down with Burke out of the hospital waiting on word for further disciplinary action, he saw Dr. Yang continue her intern program. She kept to herself and walked down the halls with whispers and vulture stares trailing her every step. She was nowhere to be found during lunch and even her fellow interns kept their distance from her, except for Dr. Grey.

Owen was now furious. Enraged at Dr. Burke for not protecting his student, for letting the situation get to this point and then for conveniently disappearing leaving Dr. Yang to suffer the aftermath alone. Owen could not help but lose respect for his fellow attending.

* * *

"Seriously?" yelled Beth.

Owen rubbed his temples soothing the impending headache that was going to hit in a minute or two.

"I asked you a month ago!" Beth cried out in exasperation.

Owen sighed. He really did try to get out of being scheduled that Saturday but the Chief entrusted Owen with Dr. Burke's patients, confident in that he will be extra attentive to the patients. Owen had no choice but to agree to work over the weekend. "I know, I know," Owen answered apologetically. "But you know what's going on in the hospital. The Chief wants to make sure there will be no lawsuits against Dr. Burke. I've been asked to cover for him."

"It's always the damned hospital. You said to be patient until you get settled in and things will change. Really?" scoffed Beth. "It's been 6 months already for crying out loud!" Beth shouted with her eyes red with angry tears.

Owen looked at Beth and saw how angry Beth was. He had been dismissive and shut off from their relationship for awhile. He knew he was screwing up left and right and Beth was rightfully to be hurt and angry by his behavior. He grabbed Beth and embraced her in a tight hug. "Sorry. Sorry. Sorry." Owen apologized repeatedly. There were many things he was sorry for, many of which he couldn't say out loud.

* * *

Cristina looked forward to the nights she was scheduled to be on call. Nights at home with Burke were long and uncomfortable. Any time their eyes met, Burke made sure to give her a look of resentment and disdain. Silence consumed every inch of their apartment and her makeshift bed on the couch was doing wonders on her back. Sometimes she even wished he would just pack her stuff and kick her out of the apartment. If he couldn't even try to understand where she was coming from, she couldn't possible imagine how they were to survive in the long run.

But then she refused to run away from this. She made up her mind that she was going to stick whether he liked it or not. Maybe she could try and understand Burke. Maybe she could see how hurt he was for telling the Chief without consulting him. But then he showed up as she was in the Chief's room. _'What the hell?'_ thought Cristina. _'Wasn't he going to come clean anyway without talking to me first? Just because I got there minutes before he did, I'm suddenly the only one at fault?'_ Cristina sighed loudly in frustration and turned to her side facing the wall.

/

Owen checked room after room, finding the rooms either locked or occupied. Running on no sleep from the night before, Owen was cranky and tired. He barged in the on-call rooms determined to find an open bed. He forcibly turned the knob and brashly pushed open the door. He scoured the room furnished with one bunk bed and saw that the lower bunk was occupied by a female doctor. By the slim curve of the body and unleashed head of wild curls, it was impossible not to recognize that it was Dr. Yang. Owen checked the top and saw it was empty. He hesitated for one brief second before deciding to take up the top bunk. Relief and happy with his finding, he quietly closed the door and gently climbed into the top bunk, careful not to wake Dr. Yang.

Annoyed she forgot to lock the door, Cristina remained still and decided not to kick out whoever was climbing on the top bunk. She had very little fight in her and she was frankly just too tired to care.

The minute Owen climbed on the top bunk, he regretted his decision. Painfully aware that Dr. Yang was below, he could not move an inch for the fear of the bed squeaking and waking up the tired doctor. He also could not sleep. Since he had been back, he was suffering from bouts of insomnia and work was a great distraction to work his insomnia to his advantage. Insomnia was not news to Owen but tonight he was tired and he was sure his body was ready to give in to sleep. But the damn doctor under him had stirred his brain into full activity.

* * *

'_Beep, beep, beep,'_ "Uhhhh," Cristina moaned, waking up to the sound of the pager beeping by her head. "Dammit," she muttered. She saw the 911 page and her eyes were now alert. It was George's dad. She shot up in bed forgetting she was sleeping on the lower bunk and made a loud _'thonk'_ as her head made direct contact with the metal bar. "OWW!" she screamed and felt her head throb with intense pain.

A loud chuckle immediately filled the room. Cristina stepped out from the bunk rubbing her forehead to locate the source of laughter. It was none other than Dr. Hunt. "Sorry I woke you up," Cristina quickly apologized, completely unaware that her roommate was Dr. Hunt.

"Hard not to wake up with you moaning, cursing and screaming. Party going on down there," Owen couldn't help but poke fun at Cristina.

Cristina found herself smiling at Owen's good-natured humor. She hadn't felt her face relax in months and it felt good to let loose. "Well, sorry."

"Don't be. I wasn't sleeping," Owen said as he changed his position to lean on his arm.

"Well, I'm out now so room's all yours," Cristina declared.

Owen peered below and met Cristina's eyes in the dark. Through the darkness, his tired eyes connected with a pair of equally tired and broken eyes. Owen cleared his throat which had Cristina's attention. "Before you leave," he quietly started. "You were right."

"Excuse me?" asked Cristina, surprised at the sudden comment.

"You were right to go talk to the Chief. Dr. Burke should have protected you. As an attending, he should have been leading you, not hiding behind an intern's work," softly but firmly stated Owen. "I'm not saying what you did was right. But you're just an intern; he should have protected you."

Cristina felt a sudden well building inside as tears were dangerously flooding its way out. _'You dragged me to cross the line!'_ Burke's words before the surgery suddenly rang loud and clear. '_There is no team! There is only me once again, making allowances for your emotional shortcomings!' _She quickly turned around for the fear of Owen seeing her weakness. What she desperately needed to hear from Burke, she was hearing from a man she barely knew. A tear escaped, quickly followed by another tear. Opening her mouth to say 'thank you' would only be followed by pathetic loud sobs. Cristina made the decision to answer his supportive words with silence and quietly left the room.

Owen sat up immediately as the shiny tears flickered in darkness. She turned away quickly to mask her tears but the depths of her hurt and pain were already noticed by Owen. He felt an overwhelming urge to climb down and hold her in his arms, letting her feel the protection and comfort she deserved. Let her know that everything will be okay. But before Owen could act upon his impulse, she left the room without a word. This time his thoughts were too strong for Owen to bury. "Shit, shit," he muttered as he held his head down with his hands. "What the hell am I going to do?" he asked himself in the dark.

* * *

Beth entered the apartment and her eyes widened at the sight of Owen's shoes by the door. It was the first time since they moved in that he got home before Beth did. She excitedly put down her belongings on the dining table and rushed into their bedroom to find Owen sprawled on their bed in deep slumber. In the excitement of it all, Beth tiptoed to the bed and gave soft kisses along the side of his face, hoping to stir him awake. Owen was unresponsive to the kisses. Beth frowned, and tried calling him out of his sleep. "Baby," she whispered. "I'm home." Owen was as still as a rock and finally, Beth gave up and went to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

As soon as Owen heard the clicking of the door, he buried his face in the pillow, preparing himself for a conversation that had to be had.

* * *

"Thank you for the post ops, Dr. Yang," said Owen while coming closer to the nurses' station.

"Oh, you're welcome," responded Cristina. She yawned and stretched out her tense back.

Owen smiled inside thinking it adorable how she resembled a kitten stretching out after a nap. He could almost hear her purr. Not to give himself away, he kept a straight face and jokingly commented, "Still sleeping on the couch?"

Cristina stopped her stretch in mid-air with her eyes wide in shock. _'He knows? And this is a joke to him?'_

Owen was taken off guard why she looked so shocked at his joke. The joke was actually more a jab at himself, having been banned from the bedroom and kicked out to the couch. But she wouldn't know that. He was pretty sure his comment had offended her. He subconsciously rubbed his lower back aching from the soft couch and winced in pain as he worked the knots.

'_At least I get a couch, he looks like he's been sleeping on the floor,'_ Cristina thought. She would not be riled up by his comment."Mine must be better than yours," quipped Cristina as she turned on her heel and walked away.

As always, Owen found himself being able to do nothing but chuckle.

* * *

"You paged, Dr. Stevens?" asked Owen.

"Oh, yes!" Izzie excitedly grabbed her folder containing permission documents and pulled Dr. Hunt's form out. "Can you sign this for me please?"

"What is this?" Owen asked while taking a bite from the apple.

"It's for the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic. I just need your signature that you will help when needed. You will sign, right?" cautiously asked Izzie.

"Oh, right. I heard about this. Of course," Owen took the paper and started filling out the information.

"Thank you Dr. Hunt," Izzie sighed in relief. "I'm still hunting down the other attendings. You're the easy one to track. I mean, you're always in the hospital," Izzie let out a fake laughter.

"I enjoy working," Owen simply stating, skimming the language on the document.

"Of course, I admire that. A lot of us here do," said Izzie. "Although I'm sure your wife isn't too happy about her husband's work schedule." Izzie let out a nervous laughter as she tried to loosen up the mood.

Owen stopped his reading and briefly looked up with a stunned expression. _'Is this the Izzie way of making conversation? What is she talking about?'_ He looked back down and quickly signed his name and the date and skimmed for a final look.

Izzie felt her face warm from Dr. Hunt's reaction. He looked at her as if she grew another head. Maybe her question was too personal, she deemed.

"Here you go. Page me when you need me. I promise I'll help out if I'm not with a patient," said Owen as he passed along the form to Izzie.

"Thank you, Dr. Hunt. I really appreciate it," Izzie replied and grabbed Owen's outstretched hand to give a firm handshake. She felt her face warm and turn a bright shade of red as she realized there was no ring. On either hand. _'Cristina's dead. Again.'_ She quickly walked away, cursing Cristina for making herself look like an ass in front of McCrush.

* * *

I've slacked so much at work this week writing this damn story, haha. Okay, so some things to address...

* Regarding time frame: months can pass between each paragraphs. You can just follow based on Cristina and Burke's story in season 3. It's clear to me but let me know if I'm leaving anyone in confusion. Next chapter is pretty much the end of Burke in Cristina's life.

* Thanks for the constructive criticism, got2luvmel. I welcome any advice on making the story better for the readers. Keep 'em coming!

* Milee: let's just say Beth gave Owen a ring before he left for his second tour. Just something to remind him of her when he goes away for the war. It was mostly written in to mess around with the doctors in the hospital. When I first wrote chapter 1, I had written engagement ring. I was reading it over and realized it should be just a ring as he is a guy. Imagine Owen with a big diamond ring, hahaha...

* Least and definitely not least, thank you all for all the reviews! I've noticed many of you also write very lengthy reviews. I greatly appreciate it. It makes me rethink about what I'm going to write in the next chapter knowing a lot of the readers are very attentive. So thank you SO much!


	4. Chapter 4

* I think there is some confusion on Owen and Beth by the reviews. Erin is right, Owen and Beth are done, for good. I changed one sentence: "As soon as Owen heard the clicking of the door, he buried his face in the pillow, preparing himself for a conversation that had to be had." That was my implication to Owen burying his head in the pillow. So basically after he realized his strong feelings, he went home early to discuss his feelings towards relationship and marriage. They fight, she kicks him out of bedroom. The last convo with Izzie shows that the ring that Owen wore (that Beth gave) is gone = Owen and Beth are done. Sorry for not being explicit. I think I was tired of writing out convos with Beth and Owen fighting, I went about it in an implicit way. (In other words, I copped out, haha.) But rest assured, you will find out more of what happened later on.

*Sorry, I couldn't phase out Burke in this chapter-would have made it way too long. Next chapter, I promise! I'm debating whether or not to stick with the wedding or create a different ending to their relationship. Any preference?

*Thank you for the reviews. Hope to chase my Monday blues with reviews!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Seattle Grace never seemed to catch a break. Reports of a ferry crash flooded the airwaves and half the doctors were called on-site to address the situation. Owen naturally stayed behind to run the ER for patients that were being brought in one after another. Then of course, as Seattle Grace's luck would have it, Dr. Grey was wheeled in, hypothermic and vitals that were as good as gone. Luckily, the doctors were able to revive Dr. Grey, most of it attributing to Dr. Yang's relentless screaming at the attendings to try again and again.

But just when Owen thought the worst was over, he was rocked with another huge scandal that consumed Seattle Grace. This time, there was no blood, no accident, no mangled bones. This time, it damaged only one person as the news came crashing down on him. Dr. Yang and Dr. Burke were engaged.

Owen knew they were in a serious relationship. But he also knew they were not speaking for weeks leading up to the engagement. He had a hard time putting two and two together. He made his silent observations and he had thought Dr. Yang was unhappy. He rarely saw her smile and looked discontent caught in an uncomfortable situation. Or, he questioned, did he merely will himself to believe that she was unhappy? Was it a figment of his imagination, a small glimmer of hope that Owen allowed himself to create so he could sleep better at night?

Whatever it was, he was not ready for the news of their engagement. His instinct was to drag her to their on-call room–the room where they shared moments that allowed him to get to know a different Cristina Yang–take her by her arms and shake some sense into her. Ask her, _'Is this what you really want?' 'Are you out of your mind?' 'Do you really love him?'_

He realized what started off harmless enough–small talks he initiated, stolen glances he allowed himself to steal and allowing himself to take his time to laugh at her comments–in a short span of time turned into something much more deeper he could have ever imagined. But he also knew his affections for her were, of course, unreturned. He knew she thought of him nothing more, nothing less than another attending in the hospital. So he could see the on-call scene playing out by her just looking at him as if he had lost his mind. Besides, he shouldn't care that a woman who couldn't care to speak to him if it's not concerning patients was about to get married to her boyfriend she was obviously committed to. Owen instilled the ridiculousness of his reaction and chided himself for being an idiot for caring.

So he avoided Dr. Yang. He avoided any kind of small talk that was usually the highlight of his otherwise dreary day. He did not allow his eyes to sneak looks at Dr. Yang during lunch and at the nurses station. When he saw her at Joe's he made a point to finish his drink and leave. He kept his answers to a minimum and only spoke to her in science, her preferred language. This was the only way Owen knew how to live himself with the distressing news.

* * *

"Dr. Hunt is uncrackable," Izzie declared. "You know, I'm starting to think he wore that ring just so he won't be bothered."

"Then why would he take it off?" asked Meredith. "Not that I would know whether or not he had a ring in the first place. Cristina? Any insights?"

"I don't care," curtly replied Cristina. "Never cared, do not care and will I ever care. Izzie, ever heard of he's just not that into you?"

"Yeah, maybe you're more the patients' type than the attendings," Alex couldn't help but add.

Izzie ignored Alex. "Whatever, Cristina," said Izzie as she stabbed her salad with her fork. "Maybe he has Asperger's. He's impossible to talk to."

"Maybe you just annoy him, like how you annoy us," quipped Cristina.

"Bitch." Izzie shot a look at Cristina and got up to leave the table.

"You always clear the table. Always," said Meredith as George gave Cristina a disapproving look.

"You guys could be nicer to her, you know. She's going through a tough time," said George in a concerned voice as he left to check on Izzie.

An awkward silence took over the remaining three as Meredith decided to change the conversation. "How's the wedding going?"

At the mention of the word wedding, Cristina got up as if it was her cue. "In your dreams I'm having this conversation with Evil Spawn here." She left the lunch room to search for some alone time.

* * *

She settled on the stairwell that was infrequently used by staff. As she sipped her coffee, she thought about Izzie's observation of Dr. Hunt. Cristina knew she wasn't the best in social situations but the minimal interactions she had, she remembered them to be light and comfortable. Dr. Hunt always had something refreshing and funny to say, always was able to relax Cristina's otherwise tense body.

That was until recently. She knew she could be insensitive but was not oblivious to Dr. Hunt's change of demeanor as of late. Gone were the teasing eyes and joking comments. He had suddenly gone cold towards her, speaking to her almost as if he was mad. She wondered if he was going through a rough patch. Cristina checked in the on-call room she had run into Dr. Hunt in the past. She never forgot the words he offered during the time when Burke and his tremors exploded in her life. She was actually still waiting for something similar from Burke but who was she kidding. She was hoping to see if she could be of any confidant to Dr. Hunt as he was to her. But he was never to be found in that room again.

And the wedding was not going well. At all. Gone were the plans of going to City Hall with only Meredith as witness. Now Burke was talking about parents in attendance, big poofy white dresses and ceremony in a church, of all the places. Walls were closing in on Cristina as this was not what she signed up for when she gave Burke the answer.

* * *

"What do we have here?" Owen entered the room.

"MVC. Josh Downing 35 year old male, tachy 160, BP 80 palp. Possible fractures on left arm and leg, rigid abdomen, just to mention a few," recited Cristina.

"Okay, stabilize Mr. Downing and try to get him up for CT and X-ray as soon as possible. Need to go check on the other driver. Page me if there are changes." Just as Owen turned to leave Mr. Downing to the well capable intern, he was shoved by a young woman pushing her way into the room.

"Oh my god! Josh! What happened!" The young lady screamed trying to make her way through the doctors.

Owen grabbed her arms before she could get closer. "I'm sorry ma'am. Please calm down. We need to stabilize Mr. Downing so we can get a better look at what's going on." Owen motioned for the nurse to take over as he ran off to Trauma 2.

"And you are?" asked Nurse Rebby.

"Julie. I'm his fiance," she answered as her whole body shook in shock.

* * *

Cristina, Owen and Callie walked into Mr. Downing's room to give the update on his post-op status.

"Hi Julie," Callie extended her hand to Julie. "Please sit down. I understand you had a long night."

"Thank you doctors," wearily replied Julie. "So how's Josh?"

"He's had extensive internal damage. Both his arm and legs were broken, fractured rib cage, ruptured spleen. Dr. Torres was able to fix his leg by inserting a metal pin in his bone cavity, screws for his arm. Dr. Hunt was able to remove the damaged spleen. His rib cage fracture should heal but he will be in a lot of pain for the first couple of weeks. We also would like to keep an eye out for his urine and make sure his kidney is functioning properly. And–," Cristina was cut off my Dr. Hunt.

"Thank you, Dr. Yang," Owen brusquely interrupted, seeing Julie's shocked expression. "Do you have any questions for us?"

"I-I…" Julie stammered, unable to get any of the words off her tongue.

"We understand this is a lot to process right now. His injuries were extensive but the good news is he will be okay. Just a long recovery period but he will make it through," sympathetically spoke Callie.

"How-how long are we talking here?" asked Julie. "Our wedding's coming up soon."

"At least 2 months," answered Owen. "When is your wedding?"

"In 6 months," blankly answered Julie.

"Oh, that won't be an issue then," offered Callie.

"Oh my god," Julie suddenly exclaimed. "This is all my fault. This is all my fault."

"Julie," Callie went over to her side to place a hand on her shoulder. "This is not your fault."

"Yes, it is." Julie defensively spoke. "We've been fighting this whole week. About the damn wedding because I was being difficult. I called him last night and asked him to come over. I-I called him because I was having doubts." Julie rambled on. "It was getting too much. I was going to call it off. He thought we should take some time to think but I demanded him to come and talk. I-I made him come and he almost died."

"The accident was purely accidental, Julie," Owen calmly spoke. "You are not to blame."

"No, no. I put him through this. Because I couldn't make up my damn mind…" Julie trailed off. "Baby," she spoke, kissing Josh's hand. "I'm so sorry. I promise I will make this up to you. Just wake up and walk down with me. I promise I'll be a good wife to you."

Cristina observed with a raised eyebrow as the doctors exchanged looks in the room. The doctors were advised to keep their personal opnions to themselves as patients were inclined to be highly emotional during care of their loved ones.

But Callie was going through a failing marriage of her own so she couldn't help but cautiously add, "Marriage shouldn't be out of obligation. The other person can be fooled for awhile but the doubts will catch up."

"But I love him," defended Julie. "The wedding was just overwhelming. I want to be here for him now and in the future. He wants me to be there as his wife, and I want to be his wife. No, now I _know_ I want to be his wife."

"Then you should be with him," spoke Cristina for the first time since she was cut off by Dr. Hunt.

Owen raised his head and took a long look at Cristina. He searched her beautiful deep eyes and her pursed, yet still full, soft lips. Her face was filled with determination and thought–he could almost hear the wheels in her head whirring at full speed. He searched her face until she turned to meet his eyes. He quickly looked away.

"Julie, we'll be here if you need anything, " answered Callie as she eyed the doctors and jerked her head slightly towards the door.

The three walked over to the nurses station.

"Talk about making a mistake," said Callie.

"She shouldn't do it because she feels she owes him something. He could have gotten into a car accident any other night. It's just chance that it was last night." Owen incessantly went on. "If she has doubts, she should be clear with him at least. She shouldn't push aside her doubts hoping for the best. I believe in guts."

This was the most either Cristina nor Callie heard Owen speak in months, maybe even ever. They both looked at him with puzzled eyes as he shared this thoughts with no holds barred. Owen sheepishly registered their curious eyes. "I recently called my wedding off. So, I'm just saying…" he trailed off.

_'So that explains the ring,'_ thought Cristina as she hid her surprised expression behind Mr. Downing's chart, realizing how unbeknowst to her, she kept unraveling the secrets to the man in front of her.

"You had doubts?" Callie asked, speaking of behalf of Cristina's silent question.

"I…" Owen paused before answering, making sure he had his thoughts aligned without being too direct. "It's never just one thing. I just couldn't lie to myself anymore…" Owen focused on answering directly to Callie. He was always told he had expressive eyes; they spoke volumes louder than his words ever could. He lacked the confidence to keep his eyes neutral if he looked at Cristina.

Callie smiled. "You did the right thing," Callie commended. "I'll be the first to tell you it sucks being in a marriage with only one person in it." Remembering Cristina had a wedding coming up in the next month, she asked, "Yang, you should have the most to say about this since your wedding's coming up soon. What's your take?"

Owen silently thanked Callie for finally bringing Cristina into the conversation. He thought the golden opportunity on how to pick Cristina's brain about this topic was going to pass.

Cristina looked up from the chart, closed the chart and handed it over to the nurse. "Such gossipers here," she remarked. "It's simple. He loves her, she loves him, he asked her to marry him and she agreed."

"It's never that simple," argued Owen, addressing Cristina for the first time.

"Maybe you're overthinking it," countered Cristina. "Besides, marriage is about sacrifices, isn't it?" she asked Dr. Hunt and turned to walk away.

Owen looked sadly at Cristina's backside as she turned the corner and disappeared from his view. There were many things he could have given up for a marriage with Beth. He had left his men in the battlefield to fend for themselves and moved back to Seattle. He was willing to slow down on his career to make time for his family. Yes, marriage was about sacrifices. But when it came down to it, he just couldn't do it with another person loudly knocking at the door to his heart. And that person was not easy to bury or dismiss. _"What a sorry sap I am," _he thought.

Callie was thoroughly bemused and surprised at Owen's longing expression in his eyes. She leaned towards Owen to softly advise, "You have one month left, Hunt. Now or never."


	5. Chapter 5

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"Hunt!" Mark called out. "I knew I could count on you to be here," Mark greeted Owen as he pulled up a seat.

Owen looked at Mark and nodded and offered a short, "Hey."

"Okay, who skinned your puppy?" asked Mark, noting Owen's dark expression.

"No one," mumbled Owen. "Just tired from work."

"That is not a tired expression." Mark took a long drag of his drink. "Looks like you need more than a drink to solve that problem."

"Ha," scoffed Owen, pretty sure having a conversation with Mark while sulking with a drink was probably the worst solution possible.

"Hey Joe!" Mark called Joe over. "Bring us two shots of whiskey." He looked at Owen to make sure. "Actually, make that a double shot."

"Right away, Doc," Joe poured full double shots of whiskey into the glasses and pushed it towards the men at the bar.

Mark liked Hunt. He liked his no bullshit style at work. He liked the way he came into Seattle Grace and took over the ER as if he owned it from day one. He liked how he could ask about last night's game and Hunt would be the first one to comment on the score or the plays of the night. And he enjoyed teasing Hunt on discussions he frequently deemed inappropriate because he was sure deep down, Hunt was definitely thinking it, just was not saying it.

Owen swallowed the large shot in one tilt of the neck and chased it down with the beer. He motioned Joe for another round.

"Yeah, you definitely need another round. So you're really not going to spill?" egged on Mark.

"There is nothing you can do about it. What's the point?" asked Owen.

"So there is a problem. A girl, I bet," Mark took a stab at the problem.

Owen looked at Mark with a stunned expression, surprised Mark had guessed correctly.

"Haha," laughed Mark. "How many times do I have you tell you? We are simple, dude! That face either means girl problems or your puppy really did get skinned. And we men do not have puppies."

"Stop saying girl problems," Owen said in a protective tone, slightly annoyed Mark was downplaying the situation when Owen was distressed. Seriously distressed.

"Who's having girl problems?" Callie made her way into Mark and Owen's conversation. She smirked with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, I see the two suffering souls have found each other."

Mark knew his business was out in the open at Seattle Grace. His initiation to the hospital was getting docked in the face by Derek, which caused quite a commotion to say the least. What he didn't know was that Hunt's business was out in the open as well. He was slightly nagged that Callie seem to know when Hunt kept a tight lip during their conversation. "The hell Hunt. You confided in a girl and won't tell me? Bros before hoes, Hunt!"

Owen shook his head at his bad timing that seemed to be the new theme in his life. He was concentrating so hard to keep his face neutral towards Cristina, Owen failed to realize Callie was still standing around when Cristina turned to leave. He adamantly denied Callie's interrogation but she would have none of it stating she was born with a sixth sense on fools in love. She confidently went on stating she would have become a professional matchmaker if bones weren't so damn appealing to take apart and put together.

"Hey, this is good actually. Hunt, you should try Sloan. He's a bit of a manwhore but he comes with plenty of experience. And one experience kind of relates to what you're going through. Listen to him if you don't want to make the same mistake he did," advised Callie as she sat on the bar stool, sandwiching Owen between Mark and herself.

"Torres, anyone ever tell you you share too much personal information, especially information that's not yours?" asked Owen.

Mark knew he had Hunt cornered. "Torres, out with this. Ignore Hunt. He thinks everything is inappropriate anyway."

"Wait, what did you do?" curiously asked Owen.

"Uh, yeah, Torres. What did I do?" asked Mark not quite getting Callie's reference. There were a lot of mistakes he made in life, he reckoned. Too many to choose from.

"Sloan slept with his best friend's wife. Had a full on relationship with her, actually," Callie spoke for Mark.

"Oh, that." Mark took the shot straight back, feeling the burn in the back of his throat. "Hunt, you're having an affair with a married woman?" Mark couldn't believe how sly Hunt was despite his constant mention of being proper. Heads swiveled at the sound of Mark's loud voice.

"Shit, Sloan. A little louder, I don't think the people in the back heard you," grumbled Owen, finishing his beer in one chug. Owen ordered another. "And no, I'm not having an affair. That's just wrong."

"This is where you come in Mark," Callie interrupted. "Advise Hunt what he can do before it gets too late, the woman gets married to another man and he ends up having an affair with her. What would you have done differently?"

"Are we seriously having this conversation?" asked Mark. The conversation was reaching a topic he had not discussed in quite a long time. "Uh, okay. I would have… I don't know. Maybe talked with Addison? I mean, yeah, I always thought she was hot but… wait no, forget it. I would have never imagined I would fall in love with my best friend's wife. Even I know that is wrong. No, I wouldn't have done anything different. You never know where life is going to take you. Sometimes, you just have to go through the motions to get to where you want to be." Mark gathered his thoughts together.

Silence loomed over the three, each in deep thought over their hopeless love situation. Callie thought about George and his decision to stray from the marriage. Yes, their relationship took off in such a short time that neither of them knew what they were getting themselves into before all was said and done. Despite knowing this now, the burnage from the divorce was very much alive. Damn George.

'_How was Mark's situation anything like mine?_' questioned Owen. Preston Burke was not his best friend. Sure he was infatuated with Cristina but he barely knew anything about the mysterious woman. And even bigger issue was Cristina had no awareness of Owen Hunt as a man and not a doctor. _'What the hell, was this supposed to help?' _Although the conversation did nothing to help his own situation, he was loosening up in the company of the two doctors. _'At least I'm getting drunk.'_

'_Damn Addison for going back to Derek,'_ Mark silently cursed. What they had was not just an affair. They were in love. He knew Addison that she was only going back to Derek because she owed him a marriage. But there was a big piece of their marriage that came apart when she fell in love with Mark and he never gave that piece back to Addison.

"Docs," Joe interrupted the three pensive doctors at the bar. "Another round?"

"On me," all three said at once.

Joe smiled. "You three definitely came to the right spot. This ones on me."

"Cheers," Callie lifted her drink and clinked with Owen and Mark.

"So…" Mark elbowed Owen. "Who's the girl?" he couldn't help but ask.

* * *

"You agreed to City Hall. I never wanted this fancy schmancy wedding. And a church? Are you kidding me?" Cristina incredulously asked.

"Well, don't you think it's a bit too late to discuss where we should hold the wedding?" Annoyed, Burke snapped at Cristina.

"Discuss?" Cristina scoffed loudly. "I would have loved to have been included in the first discussion, as a matter of fact."

Burke sensed she was twisting his words and mocking his question. He was irked. "_One _day, Cristina! No, all you need to sacrifice is a couple of hours and it'll be done and over with. My parents, your parents, everyone in attendance and for heaven's sake, I, your husband, will be happy!" Burke yelled in a loud voice.

"Well I, your wife, will _not_ be happy. Did that ever occur to you?" retorted Cristina.

Burke with fuming eyes turned to look directly into Cristina's equally angry eyes. This conversation was not going anywhere. He just needed five days to pass before it was all over and they could soon put it past them.

"Cristina…" Burke spoke once calming down. "This is our wedding day. We should be happy getting ready to celebrate our life together. It shouldn't be this difficult. Please," Burke encased Cristina's small hands in his warm hands. "Just sacrifice this one for me."

Cristina swallowed the ball of angry tears that threatened to choke its way up. Cristina did say herself marriage was about sacrifices. She sighed, lightly squeezed Burke's hands and rose from the table. Without turning back, she swiftly walked into the bathroom and locked the door.

The angry tear escaped. She could technically just sacrifice this one day, couple of hours, as Burke accurately had pointed out. Another hot tear streamed down her cheek. But Cristina knew this was not the end. After the wedding, Burke would soon talk about having children. At first, he would ask her to consider then slowly pressure her into giving him a child. It was never just one with Burke.

Cristina felt the bathroom spin and the light dim as her eyes struggled to focus. She quickly stepped forward and splashed cold water on her face to waken up her senses. Once she had enough oxygen to clear her head she looked up and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She gasped as she collapsed on the bathroom floor. She could not breathe.

* * *

Burke was not surprised to feel the bed shift as Cristina rose to leave for the hospital hours before the sun was to rise. He bit his tongue and stilled himself to just hold on. Just five more days and this will all be past them, like the baby, the shooting, the tremor and the betrayal.

Burke woke up hours later after a restless night with an impounding headache. Cristina had always been difficult and stubborn this was on another level of its own. Leave it up to Cristina to bring up her discontent on the direction of where the wedding was headed five days before the date. Burke got up from the bed and walked towards the kitchen to prepare his morning coffee. With the impounding headache, he was going to need to make it extra, extra strong.

Burke saw a note on the kitchen counter. Curiosity peaked Burke. Their usual thing was to leave short post-its messages to each other. This time, it was a letter sized white paper folded in half. Burke could make out Cristina's scrawly handwriting from the blue ink bleed through the paper. Burke calmly opened the letter and creased out the fold in the middle to read Cristina's letter.

_B,_

_This is not us going to sleep fine and the next day, me waking up just a little bit crazy. _

_This is not me running away or avoiding change._

_This is me telling you what I have been trying to say for the last month._

_The wedding-day-Cristina comes beautifully packaged in a white dress with bridesmaids as accessories. I tried to get to know that person. I tried to convince myself that I could be that person for you. And I almost succeeded but last night, for the first time ever, I couldn't recognize the person staring back at me. And it scared the hell out of me._

_For some time now I feel we have been speaking a different language. You need progression in life. I do not. You need to know the next steps and to take those next steps. I always preferred to take the off beaten track. You treat love as if it is a long mathematical problem leading to a given solution. Love, to me, has been the only thing in life that never followed any logic._

_I will never be the wife that prepares dinner for her husband and waits for him to come home. I will never be the mom to pack lunch for the kids and carpool with other soccer moms. I will never be the sweet daughter-in-law who calls every birthday, holiday and just because._

_But… _

_I will be the woman who will love you every second of every minute of every day. I will be faithful and committed to what we have and will stick around for the long haul, which I call life. _

_This is not me running away or avoiding change. _

_This is me taking a break to find the Cristina Yang that existed before Burke's Cristina. I realize this letter is not the best way to let you know I will not be showing up on Saturday. _

_I only hope when I come back home in a week, you will be here to hear me tell you the three words that were clear to both you and I through thick and thin… I love you…_

…_But if those three words are still not enough for you… then I am not who you are looking for…_

_C_

* * *

The week had gone by in absolute silence and complete isolation. Cristina spent her days stretched out on miles and miles of pink sand, enjoyed the soft sounds of the gentle lapping waves and the beauty of the bright turquoise water. The loudest sound around were her own thoughts and for the first time in years, she heard them loud and clear.

* * *

Cristina walked closer to the door and took out her keys. Her hands momentarily shook before she gripped the key and forced its way into the hole. _'Click'_ The unlocking of the door lock echoed throughout the still hallway. She took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door.

The apartment was spotless, as always. There were no dishes in the sink and all the pots and pans were properly stored away. But a vast amount of open space in the living room caught Cristina's attention. She blinked, making sure she was seeing clearly. The whole left side of their apartment was completely clear. Gone was Burke's extensive collection on jazz records, gone was the at-home library completely equipped with the archaic Dewey Decimal system filing method.

She quickly moved towards the bedroom. Drawers were empty and shelves were cleared. Preston Burke was gone. There was no mention anywhere in the apartment a man had been living there just a week ago. Cristina went back to the kitchen.

No post-it. No note. No letter. Nothing. Not even a damn goodbye.

Cristina absorbed the barren space before her. The sadness would come over her she knew. But for now, she was going to breathe. She took a deep breath.

She was going to be fine, she told herself over and over again.

Al she needed all this time was to breathe. And she was finally breathing.

* * *

* So I tried a different approach. Reviews really made me help write this chapter. I couldn't go through with the wedding because Cristina would be way too burned to try anything with Owen. I also couldn't have Cristina do what Burke did because I don't believe that is her. Let me know what you thought of the ending to C+B.

* I have long weekend getaway planned so the next update won't come until earliest, next Monday. Just as an fyi...

* Thank you for the reviews! Now we can finalllly move on with the story, eh?


	6. Chapter 6

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Cristina had thought herself impossible to experience such a wide range of emotions.

At first she was relieved. The vast open space before her was a reminder that she was free. Free to make her own decisions, free to live her own life and most importantly, free not to wear a white wedding dress in front of hundreds of people she will never care to see again.

Then came anger. The pile of post-its stacked conveniently under his mug was a frequent reminder of how he couldn't even be bothered to leave a note behind. Not even one word of goodbye. _'Maybe he had nothing to say or maybe he thought it was better off to say nothing at all,'_ reasoned Cristina.

Then, inevitably, sadness engulfed every second of every minute of her day. The first man she ever allowed herself to fall in love with and fight till the end for was gone. The loss was magnified by two as she felt the same loss when she lost her dad at the age of 9. She fought so hard to keep them both but despite her wishes, both disappeared into thin air.

But she never once regretted her decision to leave the note. Ultimately, Cristina knew deep down she couldn't save the relationship just like how she knew it was beyond her to save her dad.

* * *

The looks were a given. Doctors gave her pathetic smiles. Nurses smirked behind their papers, almost as if telling Cristina she deserved it. Her fellow interns and residents snarled at her for taking away a Cardio God from Seattle Grace. Cristina was unfazed. The longer the looks lingered, the higher she held her head up and sauntered down the hall. She refused to give in to anyone in the hospital. How she unraveled at home was a different story but no one had to know.

No one had to know except for a few. Her friends were there. Meredith was there to pick up her pieces and Alex made sure to snap at whoever came within 5 feet of Cristina. Izzie and George were bubbly and happy, distracted with their newfound love for each other, providing a much needed comic relief in Cristina's life.

Then there was Callie. Words were unspoken but they saw each other in the others' eyes. Previously, Cristina did not think much of the ortho-chick and was sure Callie stood at the gossip level of the nurses. But much to her surprise, Callie never asked or prodded. Merely nodded and acknowledged Cristina's existence, without a look of pity, scorn or mockery. Almost as if she understood exactly what she was going through.

Then finally there was Dr. Hunt. It irked Cristina how happy he looked running the ER as of late. He smiled at her quite frequently. '_Did he not know that I am in no mood to smile let alone feign one?' _Cristina managed to force the corners of her mouth upwards but even that took a lot out of her. But he never seemed to get the point as morning after morning, he always greeted her with a warm smile that reached his eyes. His eyes were reminiscent of a warm sunny crystal blue sky even Cristina had to admit she found herself to be inviting. Each day returning his smile got a little bit easier.

* * *

"Good morning Dr. Yang," Owen walked towards Cristina, each step getting lighter as he reached closer to his source of happiness.

"Morning," acknowledged Cristina, "Any good cases today?"

Owen secretly hoped for a quiet day with Cristina. "No, none overnight." Disappointment was etched in Cristina's face. "The day has just begun though, right?" he offered, hoping to raise her spirits a bit.

"Yeah," mumbled Cristina.

"Dr. Hunt," Nurse Rebby called out. "We have a kid with a large gash. He needs stitches."

Cristina offered immediately, "I'll do it."

"You sure?" asked Owen. "I have Dr. Patel on my service today," said Owen, thinking the first year intern would be more fit for sutures in the pit.

Cristina waved away Dr. Hunt's suggestion. "I need to start my day off with blood. But page me if there is anything surgical," Cristina spoke, not wanting to miss any opportunities for the day and quickly turned on her heel to leave.

Owen smiled. "Okay," his response trailing Cristina's back.

* * *

"This day is such a drag," complained Cristina.

"Aren't you with Dr. Hunt today?" asked Meredith. "ER usually gets good cases now that Seattle is classified as Level 1 Trauma."

"Yes but word got out that Cristina Yang has been assigned to the ER for the day so the gods are sending everyone over to Mercy West," said Cristina. "To die," Cristina emphasized. "They'd rather send them to die than give Cristina Yang a surgical case."

"What the hell are you babbling about Yang?" asked Alex.

"Yeah… are you… okay?" chirped in George.

"No, people. Cristina is not fine," sternly spoke Meredith. "Boyfriend left, no hearts to cut open and fix and no scalpel for over 3 days now. She is not fine, leave her alone."

"Yes, listen to my PR rep and leave me alone," grumbled Cristina.

"Why don't we do something fun tonight? How bout Joe's? Looks like we can all use a drink," Meredith suggested to her friends.

"Can't, I'm on call," Alex replied.

"Perfect. I'll be there." Cristina smiled now having something to look forward to at the end of her day. "Gonna go back to the pit to see if there is anyone I can cut open." Cristina tossed her remaining half of her sandwich onto Alex's plate and rose to leave the lunch room.

* * *

The beeping of the machines and bustling movement in the ER made Cristina pick up her pace. "What's going on?" she hurriedly asked, snapping the gloves on.

"Pulsatile mass over the stab wound, looks like a pseudo aneurysm," answered Owen and turned to Andrew, the second year intern. "Can't be sure until an angio but if it's positive, you're scrubbing in."

"Th-thank you sir," stammered Andrew at the unexpected surgery for the day. He was merely in the pit to drop off lab results when he was called over by a nurse to assist with the patient. Pure luck, indeed.

Cristina looked at Dr. Hunt in disbelief. She was the one who was scheduled in the pit, not pretty boy Andrew who frequently got his ways by batting his eyelashes to the nurses. "Dr. Hunt!" she called out before she could even think of her next words.

Owen quickly turned around at Cristina's shout. He realized he promised her a surgical case but it was unfair to give it to her when Andrew was there to assist and diagnose. "He was here and you weren't," Owen simply stated and started to walk off.

Cristina knew she had no right as the patient nor the surgery was hers to begin with. But dammit, she needed a cut and unbeknownst to her, she actually was counting on Dr. Hunt to give her what she needed. Defeated, she slumped her shoulders and walked away.

Owen turned around before turning the corner only to find Cristina already gone from the hallway.

* * *

Cristina and Meredith settled at the bar. "I think you scared the others away." Meredith called Joe over and ordered two beers.

"Oh, Mer. Get a clue will ya?" quipped Cristina. "Bambi and Barbie are out getting their freak on."

Meredith crinkled her nose at the thought. "That's just so wrong. Kind of incestuous."

Cristina shrugged having no opinion whatsoever. "Whatever floats their boat."

Meredith was slowly getting used to Cristina's disinterest in life since Burke's departure. "Are you okay?" asked Meredith.

"We don't do feelings, Mer," Cristina reminded.

"That's good then." Meredith was happy to see Cristina being her old self. The last time Cristina broke down and wouldn't stop sobbing, she really did consider sedating Cristina. Meredith was going nowhere near the sad territory. "Do you want to kill him?" she asked, thinking that was a better question for Cristina.

"I can't wait till I become an attending." Cristina ignored Meredith's question. "The day when I can start assigning interns to cases, dangling surgeries in their faces and pull it away and watch their faces crumble. Cannot wait for that day to come." Cristina swallowed a large gulp of beer.

"Okay, what happened?" Meredith asked.

"Nothing. Nothing is happening!" Cristina cried out in frustration.

"Is someone bothering you? I'll kick their ass for you," answered Meredith.

"Ha, I doubt you can take him on." Cristina grinned imagining Meredith trying to karate chop the beefy redhead.

"So there is a thing. Out with it," instructed Meredith.

'_Beep, beep, beep, beep,'_ Meredith's pager rang loud before Cristina could even open her mouth to answer. Meredith looked down and saw a page from Bailey. "Crap, Bailey." She apologetically looked up at Cristina. "Sorry, it's 911." Meredith begrudgingly told Cristina, fully knowing how sensitive she was to cases these days. "But I'll stay for the story and offer you one advice.

Cristina understood as Meredith was on Bailey's case for the day. "Go, go," Cristina waved Meredith away. "Go before Bailey holds _me_ responsible for _you_ killing a patient. Go and be a doctor."

Cristina contemplated leaving but decided against and stayed behind to finish her beer, drowning herself in her own thoughts.

* * *

"Dr. Yang," greeted Mark as he and Owen approached the alleyway.

Owen's eyes lit up but disappointment soon settled as he realized Cristina was making her out of Joe's.

"Hello," Cristina tersely replied and continued her steps.

"Leaving so soon?" asked Owen, trying to strike a conversation.

Cristina showed no signs of reciprocating small talk. "I've been here long enough. Goodnight," Cristina nodded towards the two men and made her way past them.

Without giving it a second thought, Owen reflexively reached out to grab Cristina's wrist stopping her from leaving.

Surprised, she snapped around to look at the hold that was tightly gripping her wrist. She looked up to question Dr. Hunt with agitated eyes.

"Stay for a drink," Owen quickly spoke, a bit embarrassed from reaching out and grabbing Cristina without a thought. She had the right to look confused and he picked up a hint of anger. He could even feel Mark smirking from behind.

"Can't, I'm driving," Cristina responded, slightly wriggling her wrist to give the hint to let her go.

Owen was shocked at how small Cristina's hands were. His fingers wrapped around her wrist with plenty room to spare and her hand dissolved in his grip. He loosened but still kept a slight hold. "I can take you home later," he offered.

Mark loudly coughed behind Owen to hide his laughter. _'Smooth, Hunt, smooth.'_

The offer had an immediate effect on Cristina as her insides warmed and heat quickly spread to her face. Her heart pumped louder and faster, finally showing signs it was indeed still alive and well. Refusing to overthink her body's reaction, she quickly dismissed it as the alcohol in her blood talking. And besides, she reminded herself, she was irked with Dr. Hunt for passing the surgical case over to the intern when she specifically asked him for a surgical case. _'Was this his way of making it up to me?' _she questioned. "It's alright," Cristina coolly rejected the offer. This time, she easily slid her hand out of his grasp and continued her way into the night.

"Ouch," Mark winced. "Rejected. Twice. That can't feel too good."

Owen glared at Mark. Being rejected twice was definitely not good for his self esteem.

"If you asked one more time, she might have bitten your head off. Hunt, sorry my man, but it looks like you have one more strike left then you're out." stated Mark.

Owen ignored the latter comment. "So you noticed too? No idea what I did. She was on my service today and everything went fine. I was in surgery more than half the day anyway."

"Let me guess, you didn't let her touch the scalpel or something?" suggested Mark.

"No," answered Owen. "She wasn't in the surgery with me. She was covering the pit."

"Wait you put her on your service, didn't let her scrub in and put her on pit duty? No wonder she doesn't want your drink!" Mark cried out, surprised at how dense his friend could be at times.

"What?" Dots were not connecting for Owen.

"Hello? Have you met Cristina Yang yet?" asked Mark. "I'm starting to wonder who the Cristina you are head over heels in love with. Can't be the one that I know."

"Huh?" cluelessly asked Owen.

Mark gently pat Owen's shoulder. "It's getting more and more hopeless unless you get your shit together Hunt. You do not, and I repeat you do not, mess with Yang and surgeries."

* * *

"Check out this place!" chirped Izzie. " Right across the street, 2 full-sized bedrooms and a parking space. What do you think?"

Cristina snatched the listing from Izzie's hand. "This is perfect. Thanks, I owe you one."

"No need!" happily replied Izzie.

"Callie!" Cristina called out to Callie down the hall.

"What's up?" Callie asked.

"Check this out." Cristina passed the paper along to Callie.

"Wow, it's perfect." Callie responded in awe.

"That's what I said. I'll call to schedule to see it. When are you free?" asked Cristina checking her own schedule on her Blackberry.

Izzie looked at the two in incredulous awe. "Seriously Cristina? I meant for you and me!"

Callie looked at the two, uncomfortable being caught in the middle of their squabble.

"Hahaha," Cristina let out an offensive laughter. "You, me, living together? I don't think so."

"Oh, sure but you're willing to move in with her?" Izzie asked pointing to Callie.

"You bake, right?" Cristina asked Izzie.

"Yeah, so?" Izzie answered, annoyed and bothered.

"So, she cooks," Cristina answered taking the listing from Callie. "Ill try to schedule for this weekend."

* * *

Cristina and Callie stood by the doorsteps to their new apartment and waited for the moving trunk to arrive.

"So you got rid of the car?" asked Callie while sipping on her iced coffee.

"Yeah, there's only one parking space anyway. Besides, it wasn't my car, it was _Burke's_." Cristina replied, saying Burke's name as if it was something highly contaminated.

"What did you do with it?" curiously asked Callie.

"Well, I thought about contacting Mama and so she can find a way to bring it back to her big boy, but I gave it away…" Cristina suddenly had a spark in her eye.

"I see. Nothing in exchange? I would have taken it from you," answered Callie.

"No… it wasn't in the best condition by then," slyly answered Cristina.

"Uh-oh. What did you do?" Callie knew Cristina was up to no good.

"Just vented a bit." Cristina sleekly replied.

Callie chuckled, understanding where Cristina was displacing all her pent up anger. "Well did you get it out of you?"

"Yep. Took a whole front windshield but it's out now," replied Cristina.

"Good. But don't you dare lay a hand on my baby," Callie responded referring to the antique car she received for her birthday last year.

Cristina smiled. "Nothing to worry about. I'm done here." After getting rid of Burke's car and moving out of the apartment filled with Burke's furniture, Cristina was finally ready to move on with her life.

"What are you waiting for?" a deep voice interrupted Cristina's thoughts. She turned around to only be face with Dr. Hunt coming back from a morning jog in black basketball shorts and a black sleeveless shirt drenched in sweat. Cristina took in his attire from head to toe. Her eyes stopped above his waist and wandered over to the large biceps glistening from sweat. She gulped. The muscles were bulging from the extra blood being pumped in his system. They were big, bulky and hot, to say the least. Cristina mentally fanned herself and concentrated on her breathing.

"Waiting for our trucks. They should be here soon," Callie responded.

Cristina tore her eyes away from the source of distraction and looked back and forth, taken off guard neither surprised to see each other, almost as if they planned for this interaction.

Owen noted Cristina's perplexed expression and smiled realizing Callie never mentioned he lived in the same building. "Let me shower and I'll help you get settled in. What's your apartment number?" Owen asked.

"Number 502. Just come in the door should be opened," answered Callie.

Owen nodded. "See you in there, Cristina," he said to Cristina and opened the door and quickly sprinted up the stairs.

'_Cristina?'_ Cristina raised her eyebrow and slowly turned around to face Callie.

"Oh, did I forget to mention I asked Hunt to help us with the move?" Callie nonchalantly threw out in the air.

"Uh, yeah." Cristina said in disbelief. "And that he's our neighbor?"

"You could have figured that much." Callie did not know why Cristina was so shocked. "The hospital's right across the street you know."

It was so much more than doctors living in the same building. Cristina sensed some sort of relationship between Owen and Callie and knew she was being thrown into the loop. "Oh my god. This is like _Friends…_ only much worse because it's real. "

"Ooo, _Friends_!" squealed Callie. "I love having friends as neighbors. And hey, at least it won't be boring, right?"

* * *

*erin-this week was one of those weeks where everyday felt like a monday. so yes, here is my monday posting for chapter 6! =P (sorry to have kept you waiting!)

*to everyone else-sorry for the late posting. and sorry this chapter is all over the place, haha. not quite happy with the chapter but i'm posting it anyway since i am overdue. i am going away for two weeks and won't be able to update while i am away. sorry...! i am going to try my darn hardest to get a chapter up before i leave, but if you don't hear from me by sunday, then the next update won't come until after sept 20th. but i will try to get one more chapter up.

*thank you for reading, i really do hope you are enjoying the story and thank you for the reviews! hope everyone stays safe from hurricane earl (if you are in the us/east coast)


	7. Chapter 7

Hi all. I'm back and so is Grey's. Yay! Thank you for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter; sorry it couldn't be longer!

Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"ARGH!" screamed Cristina in frustration. "Where are my furniture?"

"Uhh…" Callie blankly stared at the 10 boxes that were before Cristina. "What are those?"

Cristina scowled at Callie. "Why are they not assembled! Great. Just great. Did they expect me to store my clothes in cardboard boxes between planks of wood? What the hell am I supposed to do with them?

"Put it together?" suggested Callie. "Are you sure you asked them to assemble it before delivery? You know you have to pay extra for that."

Cristina shot Callie another look as she paced back and forth in the living room. "No, I will do this. If I can take apart hearts and put it back together, I can sure as hell follow instructions and screw pieces of wood together. Where are the tools?"

"What tools?" retorted Callie. "Did you bring any?"

"If I had, I wouldn't be asking you now, would I?" quipped Cristina.

"Ask Owen. He would definitely have I bet," suggested Callie.

"I barely know that guy. You're friends with him. Can you ask him?" asked Cristina, clearly feeling Callie was the better person to ask in this situation.

"Oh, who knew Cristina was so shy around guys?" teased Callie. "Just ask him, he won't bite. I'm going over Sloan's for the night." _'Besides I'll hear an earful from him if he finds out you sent me for you.' _

"Fine, fine. Thanks for all your help. Really appreciate it," retorted Cristina as she banged the door behind her and made her way downstairs to Owen's, determined to put together at least one furniture for the night.

* * *

Owen hastily sliced another piece of red meat from his plate and stuffed it in his mouth and quickly focused back on the last quarter of the Seahawks vs. 49ers game. Seahawks were leading by 3 with 49ers on offense. "C'mon!" Owen yelled at the screen as Bryant failed to interfere with Smith's first down pass.

'_Ding Dong, Ding Dong.'_ Owen groaned from the interruption and rose to meet the intruder, his eyes trailing the TV all along from his seat to his door. Without peeping in the eyehole, he brashly opened the door with no thoughts of who to expect. His eyes widened at the sight before him. He looked from head to toe at his visitor – wild curls tucked loosely in a high bun; a Stanford red zip-up zipped mid way, exposing the thin spaghetti straps of the tank top underneath; black shorts accentuating the legs that were milky and just begging to be touched; and lastly, comfortable black flip flops showing off the nude painted toes that finished the perfection that was Cristina. "H-hi," stammered Owen.

"Hello," coolly responded Cristina. "Can I borrow your tools?"

Owen still not recovered from the sight of Cristina before him could do nothing but open the door ajar to let Cristina in. "Come in," he offered.

Cristina knew Owen was just being polite so she stepped inside and awkwardly stood by the entrance. "I just need tools."

Owen was determined to help whatever it was Cristina needed. "Drill? Screwdriver–slotted or flared? Spanners, wrenches–pipe, strap?" Owen went on listing the tools he knew he had before he registered Cristina's '_I have no idea what the eff you are talking about'_ look on her face. "What do you need it for?"

"I need to put my furniture together," simply stated Cristina. This asking for tool thing was becoming a thing on its own. _'Just give me your damn toolbox,'_ thought Cristina in frustration.

"Okay, take a seat." Owen ushered Cristina over to the sofa. "Let me dig my toolbox for you." Owen disappeared into another room.

Cristina took this time to look around Owen's living space. Everything was orderly and neat in a reasonable manner, far different from Mr. Clean's living area she resided in the past year and a half. Cristina felt the soft velvety touch of the brown sofa she was ushered over to. The cushion felt big and plush, soft and inviting. There were four family pictures splattered throughout the walls of the living room, all undoubtedly his family.

Owen came out a minute later holding a large black box. "I think you could have asked them to pre-assemble it for you," advised Owen as he reentered the living room.

Cristina immediately shot Owen a look. "Thanks. Will remember that for the next time," said Cristina through clenched teeth. Obviously, she had mistakenly thought assembly was included and didn't know she had to request for it. It didn't help that that was the first question Callie and Owen both asked, making Cristina feel completely incompetent to even buy her own furniture.

'_Yikes,'_ thought Owen, noting the agitated look on Cristina's face. "I'll do it for you. I'm pretty sure I'll do a better job at it anyway."

Cristina looked up in surprise. "No, that's okay," she quickly replied, taken off guard at Owen's generous offering. "I'm sure I can figure it out."

Owen waved his hands and quickly dismissed Cristina's words. He wanted to help her out any way he could. Owen sat in front of his dinner and raised the remote control to lower the volume on the game. "Let me just finish my dinner."

"Okay, thanks." Cristina knew Owen would be able to get the job done fast and accurately and he genuinely didn't seem to mind. She mentally noted to buy him something after the job. "I'll be upstairs."

"Keep me company while I eat," requested Owen.

Cristina raised her eyebrow. "You have company," she answered and pointed to the game.

"I prefer this company over that," stated Owen as he raised his remote control once again and shut off the TV.

Cristina gulped. If Owen couldn't tell, this was very, very uncomfortable and now the silence was making each second go by twice as long. Someone had to break the silence. "That's quite a fancy dinner for one."

Owen laughed looking at his steak with grilled vegetables on the plate. From the corner of his eyes, he noted Cristina crossing her leg to further expose the creamy complexion on her slim smooth legs. Owen gulped. "Trust me, I'd be more than happy to prepare dinner for two next time," he responded with a twinkle in his eyes.

'_Is he flirting with me?'_ questioned Cristina. She could not tell. He could just be saying he prefers human company over machines and that he prefers to eat dinner with someone and not alone. Cristina ran her hands down her sides to shake the nerves and recrossed her legs.

Owen clenched his fork as Cristina again unfolded her legs and crossed the other direction, each time pushing her shorts up to expose more and more of her creamy legs. Owen was on edge and was sure one more time she did that, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from pouncing on her, crash his lips to hers and run his hands along her thighs to feel the buttery soft touch under his rough fingers. He wasn't sure how much she was going to appreciate that. And he was going to suffer from indigestion if he kept shoving food down his tense body. He pushed aside his plate and rose. "Let's go. I'm done."

* * *

It took all of 30 minutes for Owen to put together the dresser she was sure was going to take her the whole night. "Are you sure you did this correctly?" asked Cristina while checking each dresser drawer slid open and close correctly.

"Of course I did," proudly answered Owen. He was always good at putting together things even as a little boy.

"But you didn't even look at the instructions," complained Cristina as she jumped up to put pressure on the top of the dresser, making sure it didn't collapse.

"Are you trying to break the damn thing?" asked Owen as Cristina jumped up and down like a child, pressing on the top of the dresser.

"Ha, so you're not sure if you did it correctly," Cristina pointed out as she turned around to meet Owen's amused eyes.

"No, I'm sure I did it correctly," Owen answered with all certainty.

"Then why the worry of me breaking it?" quipped Cristina.

Owen rolled his eyes at her inability to trust his job. He took one large step towards Cristina and before she could react, bent down to secure her thighs with both arms and in one quick motion effortlessly lifted her right on top of the dresser.

Cristina before she knew what was happening felt herself in the air and seated on top of the dresser. She looked down at Owen in shock. "Wh-what was th-that for?" she stammered.

"Now, do you believe me?" smugly asked Owen as he felt his fingers tingling from the sensation of the buttery touch of her thighs. His hands grasped the top of the dresser and he hovered below Cristina.

Owen's rough hands on her thighs gave her shivers that ran through her body. His intense look from below filled with amusement and curiosity did not help the heat that was rising from within. She placed her hands on the edge and slid herself down from the top. What a mistake that was. She found herself back on the ground but this time trapped between the dresser and much too close to Owen.

Owen clenched his hands as Cristina unknowingly placed herself so close that he could feel the warmth from her body. She averted the eyes and turned her head to avoid the figure in front.

Before stepping back to give back her space, Owen huskily whispered, "I'd be happy to cook for two next time, Cristina." Stunned, Cristina raise her head to meet a pair of intense blue eyes that darkened considerably with the comment. Owen narrowed his eyes to bore into her soft brown eyes but before the moment could turn uncomfortable, he stepped back giving Cristina room to breathe and casually asked, "So what's next?"

* * *

Cristina went to search for Owen after her shift was nearing an end. Lo and behold, she found him in the empty ER, going over patient's chart. "Hey," she called out to him, making sure no one was nearby to hear their conversation.

Owen smiled at Cristina's voice and looked up to meet her greeting. "Hey," he repeated.

"You finished the furniture last night. You didn't have to kill yourself over it," said Cristina. Callie informed Cristina in the morning Owen was over last night putting together the rest of her furniture when Cristina was scheduled to be on-call the night before. "You didn't have to do it in two days, you know."

"You're welcome," ribbed Owen, realizing this was Cristina's way of saying thank you.

"I-I mean, thank you. I appreciate your help." Cristina was a tad bit disappointed Owen finished the job when Cristina was not there. The last time he was there to put her dresser together, Cristina immensely enjoyed her time with Owen and definitely did not stop herself from taking sneaks of Owen expertly working the tools. Also, it was impossible to dismiss the rush she felt all throughout her body when Owen, without preamble, grabbed her thighs to lift her into the air. "So what do I owe you?"

"Owe?" Owen corked his head. "I didn't do it to get something from you. I did it because I wanted to," stated Owen, with a tone mixed of annoyance and disappointment Cristina expected to have to give something in return.

"Oh," feebly replied Cristina, picking up on Owen's tight response. So much for wanting to do something nice in return. Cristina shrugged and said, "Well then… Thanks again." Cristina turned her body to leave but was met with resistance by Owen's grasp on her forearm.

"So when can I invite you over for dinner?" Owen boldly asked.

Cristina had to release a smirk at Owen's unabashed question. There was a certain amount of chemistry between them, she knew that much. Now, did she want to act on it? Was she ready? She pondered while meeting Owen's demanding eyes.

She was pausing and Owen felt uneasy by the second. _'Was she going to say no? Shiet.'_ Possibility of rejection was not in Owen's thoughts as he was playing his cards with extreme precaution since the day he realized his affections for this woman. Owen jammed his other hand in his pocket, feeling sick at the thought of Cristina rejecting his offer.

Owen's grasp on her arm was still firm but his once stable eyes were now flicking up and down anxious at Cristina's silence. She smiled and realized she did want to get to know this brazen yet nervous man a little bit more than yesterday. "I'm free Friday," she answered. "And I like my meat medium rare."


	8. Chapter 8

Okay, I realize it was a bad idea to start a new story so close to the season premiere as I am quite distracted with the new season, as I'm sure many of the readers are as well. I'm really really not pleased with this chapter but I am passing the blame over to Erin, whose recent review nudged me to post it anyway. Haha =P. Anyway... thanks for reading and reviewing. I get quite a bit of inspiration from reviews (esp milee–thanks!) so do not hesitate to share if there is something you would like to see happen in the next chapter.

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Cristina woke up with a knot in her stomach as she realized tomorrow was D-Day for dinner at Owen's. Cristina had always avoided dates like plagues. When all her friends in high school were busy finding dates for the weekend to show off on Monday who they tongued with, Cristina busied herself by hunting down her science teacher to argue the 1 point deduction on the extra point question – she deserved 105, _not_ a 104. When all her peers were busy vying their bids for the future doctors in her program, Cristina went straight for the professor who she knew commitment would never be an issue between the two. Till this day, she shuddered thinking what would have happened if the man next to Cristina and Burke hadn't collapse during their first date. At one point during dinner, she seriously wondered if a second date would be in store for them. And now after avoiding dates for as long as she could remember, she had stupidly agreed to dinner at Owen's without giving it much thought other than he had her intrigued and his steak looked damn good. The date jitters were now in full effect.

"Ugh…." Cristina droned out a loud moan. "Stupid, stupid. Stupid me."

"Wow," Alex's voice loud rang through the basement. "Self deprecating talk from Yang?"

"Oh, shut it." Cristina was not in the mood for Alex's jeers.

"Where do I sign up for the smackdown?" Alex took a seat next to Cristina.

Cristina shot him an agitated look. "Who gave you permission to sit next to me?"

"I did," said Alex as he stuffed his face with a banana. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Waiting for Mere," wearily replied Cristina.

"I smell girl problems. Sorry Yang, I don't do girl talk." Alex scooted closer to the edge of the gurney.

"Oh, and here I was expecting to have a bonding moment and shed some tears on your shoulder,"dryly remarked Cristina.

"Whatever. Grey's scrubbing out right now. I'll be at Joe's." Alex lifted himself off and made his way out.

"Get a booth! And shots–tequila!" yelled Cristina at Alex's backside from the gurney.

* * *

"Are you calling it a night here?" Meredith nudged Cristina, who was stretched out on the gurney. "C'mon, let's go to Joe's."

"Actually, I was thinking of camping out here till Saturday," responded Cristina.

"And you would do that because…?" Meredith curiously asked towards Cristina's quirky response.

"Breathe a word and you die." Cristina let out a deep sigh. "I agreed to go over Owen's place for dinner tomorrow and now I'm kicking myself in the rear end for it."

"Oh, juicy!" Meredith's eyes gleamed at the news of Cristina's date. "Who's Owen? How'd you meet him?"

Cristina shot up from her position and raised her hands in disbelief. "Seriously Mere?"

"What?" innocently asked Meredith. "Do we know an Owen?" She pondered, racking her brains, until a light bulb went off and her mouth dropped wide open. "Wa-wait. Owen as in Owen Hunt as in the new Head of Trauma here? When did he become Owen to you? And why," Meredith lightly smacked Cristina's arm. "Why am I hearing about this right now? OH MY GOD! Izzie was right–you did have a crush on him!"

"Mere…" Cristina shot her a look. "Shut up and let me talk."

Meredith suddenly let out a loud gasp. "Is that why you called off the wedding with Burke?"

"Writing trashy romance novels as a side job now? It's not like that and you know it," said Cristina. "I dunno…" Cristina mumbled. "He put together my furniture for me this week and asked me to come over for dinner and I stupidly agreed."

"Wait… that's it? You're fussing this much over that?" Meredith laughed a sigh of relief that Cristina wasn't hiding something as scandalous as how she and Burke first started their relationship. "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit here? He's your neighbor, right? Maybe he just wants to make some friends at the hospital."

"He has friends. He's BFFs with Callie and Sloan," Cristina pointed out.

"Fine, then maybe he just wants to get to know you a bit more," rationalized Meredith. "And you agreed which makes me believe you do too. Besides, this will be a good way for you to finally move on from Burke."

"Who?" Cristina rose from the gurney. "Let's go to Joe's before Alex takes our shots."

* * *

It was only when Cristina neared Joe's that she realized there would be a good chance Owen would be there with Callie and Mark. Hoping for some peace of mind over drinks with Meredith, she quickly scanned the room and let out a sigh of relief seeing the Three Musketeers absent at Joe's. They walked over to the booth Alex was holding for them and quickly downed the already prepared shots.

"What is up with you two?" asked Alex. "I am calling myself off of barf duty tonight so if you two are getting hammered, let me know now."

"We're off tomorrow," stated Cristina. "And, please, drink with us and you're the one who will need to be escorted home."

"Wanna do a bottle?" bravely asked Meredith. She too was facing the never ending Derek issues and was thisclose to swearing off all guys for the rest of her life.

Joe brought over a bottle of Patron and placed it on the table. "I have my eyes on this table. No dancing, especially on top of tables, tonight and definitely no barfing in my bar!"

"Cheers," Cristina poured three hefty shots and pushed it towards Alex and Meredith. "And yes, I am getting hammered tonight."

_Almost done with the bottle…_

"I don't trust him. How does he explect me toooo?" Meredith wagged her finger in Cristina's face as she slurred her words.

"I'm not getting invulved with anothur attending," Cristina spoke over Meredith and pushed her finger out of her face.

"I'm going to the bar," Alex rose and left the table, leaving the two drunk ladies to slur on their own.

"But attendings are hawwtt," Meredith said with eyes half closed.

"Mmmm… not true. They're not hawwt, it's the powur that makes them so damn irresistibul. And they know how to fauk." Cristina emptied the bottle into their two shot glasses. "But, they're nothing but troubul."

"Stoopid. And they think we're troubuul! Always want something more all the time and fauk us ovur in the end." Meredith banged her shot into Cristina's, spilling half of Cristina's shot.

"Bitch!" yelled Cristina.

"Sorry, sorry. Joe!" Meredith yelled across the bar. "One more bottul!"

"No, you two had enough," a voice came out of nowhere. "You guys finished a bottle tonight?" Callie approached from behind.

"It's my rooomie!" happily stated Cristina. A large figure appeared behind Callie. "And my neighbur!" she exclaimed seeing Owen, too drunk to remember her nerves for their date tomorrow.

"Hello," greeted Owen, thoroughly amused at the sight of the two very drunken residents. He watched how quickly they polished the bottle from the other side of the bar and was set on leaving them alone until Callie heard Meredith ordering another bottle. They both rose, knowing both ladies were beyond the ability to make their own decisions for the rest of the night.

"Joe! Where's my bottul!" yelled Meredith.

"We're outtt," Cristina held her shot glass upside down and pouted as not even a drop of tequila fell out.

Owen calmly took the shot out of Cristina's hand and placed it on the table. He knew telling her she's had enough would only get him an express ticket to his own misery. Instead, he went over to the bar and returned with two glasses of water. "How are you guys drinking this much?"

"Are you saying we can't handul our liquor?" Meredith asked defiantly, amidst all the slurring.

"Uh, no. I'm just saying… uhm. You two are quite small…" Owen wavered off not wanting to piss off Cristina's friend.

Callie looked at Owen and her eyes assured him there is no need to worry about the ramblings of a drunk girl. "You are going to pay for it tomorrow at work."

"Whut wurk?" asked Cristina. Owen silently pushed the water towards her motioning her to drink. Cristina looked at Owen. "I'm off tomorrow. I don't need wutur, I need more tuhquila," she stubbornly demanded from Owen.

"If you finish the water, I'll get you a shot." Owen tried to negotiate with Cristina.

"Promiss?" Cristina grabbed the glass with both hands and took a large gulp. "Mere, drink up! We can get anuther shot aftur!" Meredith immediately opened her eyes and chugged her water.

Owen and Callie exchanged amused looks as Owen could not help but laugh at their drunk behavior. "Do they do this often?" he asked.

"More often than you think," Callie responded. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into," she teased Owen.

"Hey! Stop talking about us in frunt of us." Cristina called them out on their exchange.

"How ruuude! Cwis, don't go ovur to this rude guy's house tomurrow!"" Meredith rose and sauntered over to the bathroom.

Callie, shocked, looked back and forth at Owen and Cristina. "You two have a date tomorrow?"

"No," exclaimed Cristina, louder than intended, masking the soft but firm, "Yes," simultaneously spoken by Owen.

Taken aback at Cristina's no, Owen intensely looked at Cristina until she met his eyes. Deeming herself too drunk to even try to figure out what he was trying to convey with his piercing eyes, she pushed his face to turn his head, breaking the gaze, and rose to go to the bathroom.

"Ouch, Owen," Callie winced in sympathy.

Owen sighed. "You are right, I have no idea what I'm getting myself into," Owen stated to Callie and left to refill the empty water glasses.

* * *

Cristina stopped her walk and twisted her legs in agony. "I have to go to the bathroom," she complained. "It's your fault for making me drink that wutur."

He laughed inside, pleased with himself at tricking her to drink four glasses before she finally decided she was incapable of finishing 'one' glass of water and gave up on the promised shot.

"I can carry you if you want," he offered.

"No, I can wulk." Cristina stubbornly refused and straightened up, spreading her arms to maintain her balance. "But it's so far…"

"It's because you're walking really slow," explained Owen from a distance but close enough to catch her if she stumbled.

"I can wulk faster if the ground stops moving." Cristina focused intently on the gravel that refused to stay still. "It won't stop, Owen."

"Let me carry you," Owen insisted again.

"No. Stop treating me like…" Cristina paused to carefully place her one foot forward.

Owen drew in his breath, as a quick thought passed in his thoughts, _'like what, my girlfriend?'_

"…a child," Cristina finished her statement as she proudly placed her foot forward.

Owen stood by and silently observed the deliberation that went into walking without stumbling. Very cautiously, without breaking her concentration, he placed his palm at the small of her back, securing her stance. Cristina felt the support immediately and the next steps were much easier to take. "See! I can wulk on my own!" she proudly stated, eyes gleaming with a strong sense of accomplishment.

Owen was close enough to see the pure excitement in her eyes. Thinking she was too cute for words at the moment, he could do nothing but let a smile reach his eyes and nod his head in acknowledgment. Resisting a strong urge to claim her rosy lips to his eager lips as she was drunk and he was not, he vowed to himself that he will make progress tomorrow, whether she was ready or not.

* * *

Cristina spent the majority of the day sleeping off the pounding headache and moaning in bed nauseous from tequila and the night that was to come. She vaguely remembered Owen and Callie there with them at Joe's and could not recall how she got into bed the night before. Memories were a blur and it was unsettling not knowing how much of a drunken mess she had been the night before.

'_When did Owen and Callie come to our table?' _Cristina texted Meredith in bed.

'_We drank with them?' _Meredith responded in seconds. Cristina sighed as she was left to piece her night together herself.

* * *

'_Ding Dong, Ding Dong'_ Cristina jumped at the sudden sound and rushed to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's Owen," came the voice from the other side.

Cristina momentarily froze in front of the door and quickly smoothed her hair down. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Owen stood before her in his olive jacket, soft maroon v-neck t-shirt and dark blue jeans with a beautiful red and orange bouquet of roses, gerberas, carnations and huckleberry. Cristina stepped aside to let him in. "I thought we're having dinner at your place?"

"Change of mind. I have a place in mind for dinner." Owen stepped inside and pushed the flowers towards Cristina. "For you."

"Um… thanks." Cristina took the flowers and looked around the kitchen registering she had no idea where Callie kept the vases. She rested the flowers on the counter. "I'm not really dressed for a night out." Cristina debated changing, glancing down at her casual black loose cowl neck sweater and fitting jeans.

"What you're wearing is fine. I wouldn't dare ask you for a night out after last night," said Owen with tease in his eyes.

Cristina chewed her lower lip, uncomfortable at the mention of the night before. _'Shit, why'd I drink so much?'_ she silently chastised herself.

Owen noted her fidgety behavior and quickly added, "We're going to a casual place so don't worry. And besides," he stepped closer and gently lifted her chin, forcing her eyes away from her clothes and into his serene eyes, "You look beautiful."

Relief flooded her body as she realized whatever happened last night could not have been that bad for Owen to show up and say those words to her. Cristina felt herself drowning in his earnest eyes and she managed to form a small smile.

"Let's go. I'm starving," Cristina grabbed her coat from the coat rack and stepped out.

* * *

Owen rushed ahead to open door of his truck for Cristina and held it open, sparing room for her to get in.

"Thank you." Cristina stepped on the door step and settled in the seat. Owen stayed put in front of the door and waited until she was settled. Before she could reach for the belt herself, Owen leaned in, pulled the belt across her body and latched the seatbelt to the buckle. He tugged for good measure.

Cristina rolled her eyes at his unnecessary chivalry. "For the record, you don't have to do everything for me. I'm not a child."

Owen took his hand off the latch and placed both hands on the Cristina's seat, meeting his eyes with hers with mere inches between them. He smiled, remembering the same words spoken last night.

"What?" Cristina squirmed a bit in her chair, uncomfortable at the proximity of their faces with his eyes saying too much and his mouth not saying enough.

Having decided he tortured himself enough by playing coy in hiding how much he wanted Cristina for the past 6 months, he decided not to waste a second more. Owen pushed through the heavy air that was trapped in the tight space between them and angled his face to capture Cristina's slightly parted lips. He rested his lips on hers to savor the first taste of her lips. It was sweeter to taste and softer to touch than he could have ever expected. His hand moved from the seat to gently stroke her neck as he drove harder to taste her lips and moved eagerly to take in her supple bottom lip to his own. He nibbled gently before turning his head the other way to take her whole mouth into his.

The kiss was unexpected, to say the least. The slight tickling of the beard sent flutters throughout her whole body. The initial shock was quickly buried by the pleasant surprise of how soft Owen's lips felt against her own. She had imagined his kisses to be rough, like his tough exterior, but the kisses that claimed her lips were slow and sensual. The kiss spoke volumes and instantaneously erased all jitters and doubts.

Finally, Owen gathered strength to tear his lips from her hot mouth and pulled away to look at Cristina's rosy mouth opened in shock and eyes still closed from their kiss.

The emptiness she felt when Owen finally pulled away was another loss she was not ready for. She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds to gather herself, not wanting to show the longing in her eyes.

Owen waited for Cristina to open her eyes when she was ready. When her eyelids finally lifted to expose soft brown eyes he was already a goner for, he brushed the strand of curls aside to fully expose her beautiful porcelain face. "For the record," Owen stated repeating her previous words, "this _is_ a date, Cristina."

Cristina acknowledged with a nod, surprised how much she found herself wanting to grab his face and return his kisses, this time with her in control. "Well then, let's get this date started already. I said I'm starving."


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the late update. I was totally going to gloss over the first date but all the reviews seemed to want a first date. Mmm so I wrote it but it's really not good so please do not read with any expectations. =) Again, I really don't love this chapter but what am I gonna do.. posting it anyway... but I am enjoying what I have for my next chapter so far. Next update will not be far behind–check for it in a day or two.

Erin: Every time I'm close to posting a chapter, you always beat me to the punch and give me a nudge. Odd, haha. I swear I'm not holding it off until you review twice! Kevin's Biggest Fan: Happy to see your reviews again. Hope you enjoy this story. Lastly, a hugeee thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Owen got in the car and started the engine. "So how was your day?" Owen asked as he licked his lips, smoothing away the distracting tingling sensation that lingered from the kiss. He needed his brain to function properly if he wanted the date to be somewhat interesting for Cristina.

Cristina crossed her arms in full defense mode. "Are you mocking me or do you really want to know?"

"Both." Owen smirked at Cristina.

"Well, sorry to disappoint but I had a great day," lied Cristina. "Slept well, did my laundry, read the latest issue of JAMA and topped my day off by baking a cake."

Owen let out a low chuckle. "You should have ended at slept well. You don't do laundry and you definitely do not even know how to turn on the oven."

"What are you, a stalker? Stop fishing information from Callie," said Cristina as she diverted her attention to finding an audible radio station.

"No, I'm just interested." Owen responded in a more even tone and flicked an eye towards Cristina.

Cristina's finger momentarily paused on the button before she commented, "Fine. I couldn't keep anything down the whole day so now I am starving. And when I'm starving I get really cranky." Cristina growled as she impatiently stabbed the button. "And I can't get a damn signal on the damn radio." _'Behave yourself,'_ Cristina silently chided herself, not knowing what gave her the courage to act like her normal cynic self in front of the man that easily gave her the flutters with one flick of an eye.

"Try this," Owen pushed the search button as the radio automatically settled on the next station.

Cristina settled back in her seat and let the soft music take over.

They came to a halt at a red light. Owen took this time to turn his head to look at Cristina, who was staring straight ahead. "Are you feeling better?" he asked in a genuine tone.

She turned her head towards Owen and nodded.

"Good, good. Because I'm feeding you lots of carbs tonight." Owen smiled, relieved at her well-being, and gave a quick squeeze of her hand. "But I'm cutting you off from tequila," chuckled Owen as he couldn't help but add. As he shied away from her gaze, he couldn't help but wonder what urged him to joke around with someone who obvious was not keen on being poked and prodded. But he sure did get a rise out of her reaction every single time.

* * *

"Are you done with the entrees?" The waiter came by the table. Owen looked at Cristina for an answer.

"Yes, we're done," Cristina answered for both, pushing her nearly finished lobster risotto.

"Impressive," Owen nodded in approval. He always favored woman who enjoyed their food rather than picking on a salad trying to look pretty while eating.

"I'll be right back with the dessert menu." The waiter cleared their table and left.

"Food was amazing." Cristina gloated, happy and full. She felt herself buzzing from the relaxed atmosphere, delicious entrée and good company, despite the fact she had not a lick of alcohol as she could not stomach any wine.

"You liked the food here?" Owen asked, making sure he heard her correctly.

"Mmhmm," Cristina sipped her water. "Mere actually told me about this place. Never found the time to come."

Owen beamed from ear to ear. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Owen's eyes glazed over to Cristina's hopelessly supple and full lips. Those lips were going to be the end of him as he knew it. Blue and brown eyes met over the flickering dim candle that was almost at the end of its wick. They briefly lost themselves in each other's eyes—voices in the background blended into a low buzz and the room was fading into darkness. Cristina felt the time slow and Owen felt the place disappear.

"HUNT!" A loud booming voice rang through the restaurant. Cristina and Owen broke apart their gaze to follow the loud voice. A tall rotund man with cherub cheeks stormed out of the kitchen, taking large strides towards their table.

Owen took his napkin off his lap and rose laughing to greet his friend. They met in a brief embrace, patting each other on the back before they pulled apart. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Al yelled at Owen, almost annoyed at the impromptu visit.

"Sorry, man. It was all last minute," Owen answered. "Good to see you still have your flare in the kitchen. You helped me out tonight," he nudged Al as he looked down at Cristina.

"Oh, who do we have here?" Al made his way over to Cristina. "Hello, Al," Al extended his hand.

"Cristina. Nice to meet you," Cristina met his hands and gave a firm handshake.

"Al's the Head Chef here," Owen explained as Cristina looked between the two.

"And who is this fine lady?" Al asked raising his hands to kiss Cristina's hand.

"Behave," Owen warned as he pulled Al away from Cristina. "She's someone I'm trying to impress."

Cristina smiled, enjoying the sight of relaxed Owen outside the hospital setting.

"Oh, that's cheap Hunt. Bringing your date to your restaurant. I could have thought of something better than that," Al teased Owen. "Wait, wait, hold on." Al excitedly headed towards the kitchen. "I'll help you impress her tonight."

"Your restaurant?" Cristina questioned as soon as Al disappeared into the kitchen. "Is that how you really wanted to impress me?"

"Did it work?" Owen asked, half kidding half serious, but quickly switched over to a more serious tone. "No, it really was last minute. I wanted to go shopping for dinner tonight but my surgery went longer than expected. There's not many places I know in Seattle now and I wanted to bring you somewhere special." Owen looked up, nervous, hoping she did not take him as a pompous showoff who wanted to impress with his restaurant. "I don't really have anything to do with the restaurant. I just helped open it," he quickly downplayed his involvement despite the fact that he was the sole owner of the restaurant.

The hospital consumed Cristina's life and that was all she ever cared to know. She was fully intrigued that Owen, despite his equally insane working hours, had another life she was unfamiliar with and not a part of. "What's with the name?" asked Cristina.

"Caccia di Roma?" Owen briefly hesitated, worried Cristina would think the name was cheesy. "Caccia means hunt in Italian. Al and I went backpacking in Europe in college. He fell in love with the cuisine, I fell in love with Rome. So when I opened this restaurant, I wanted this place to be a place that you can go to in Seattle when you're looking for a place like Rome. Although I promise you there is no place like Rome."

Cristina nodded, impressed with the thought and connection to Owen behind the name. "I like the name."

"Have you ever been to Rome?" asked Owen.

Cristina shook her head. "But if it's anything like your restaurant, I think I will like it."

At her approval, Owen mentally tucked Cristina away along with Rome in the near and dear place in his heart. Every minute he spent getting to know her, she was inching her way inside, invading him inside and out.

"And now, to seal the deal on the date." Al came out from the kitchen holding a large plate. He set the dish between Owen and Cristina. "Here for you two lovebirds is olive oil and salty caramel gelato with pizzelle. Come thank me before you leave, Hunt."

* * *

Owen shut the engine off in his truck after parking. "Thanks for tonight, Cristina."

'_Thank you?'_ she was confused. All she did was merely show up to be fed with amazing food in a restaurant with great atmosphere. "I didn't do much…"

"You showed up," said Owen.

Cristina laughed, remembering she did regret agreeing to his invite and spent half the day in jitters and the other half, drunk, trying to forget the jitters. He had a better read on her than she realized.

"So thank you," Owen gripped the handle on the car. "I have to admit… It took awhile to get here with you and the wait was definitely not fun."

Surprised at his frankness, Cristina turned to catch Owen's timid smile before he opened the car door to make his way out of the car. Before Owen could get over to Cristina's side to open the door, she beat him to the punch and stepped out. Owen held the door as he helped her step down from his truck.

"Seriously. You don't have to open the door for me all the time. I'm not that kind of girl," Cristina stated.

Owen shrugged, a bit flustered she was holding off his attempts to be a man with her. "That much I get. So what kind of girl are you?"

"Mmm… Why don't you come up to my place and get to know me better?" Cristina coyly asked.

Owen deeply chuckled. So she was not a prude. He reached out for her hand and held her gaze. "Not tonight."

"Your loss," Cristina suavely spoke, trying to keep the atmosphere light and flirty. She was having a difficult time figuring out why he chose to look at her with such intensity if coming up wasn't in his plans.

It was definitely his loss, he knew, but Owen was intent on doing it right with Cristina. Feeling a slight shift from her hand, he reacted and turned his hand to fully wrap her hand into his. "C'mon. I'll walk you up."

* * *

Cristina found herself being led into her apartment with her hand fully enclosed in the Owen's large and warm hand. The elevator ride and walk to her door was spent in silence.

"Um…" Cristina wriggled her hand. "I need my hand back, please."

Owen sheepishly smiled and loosened his grip. He realized he needed to get used to Cristina's blunt ways of pointing things out or maybe he just had to be more honest with her. If she had any idea how much he had waited for this day to be intimate with her, he was sure she would be more selective with her words.

He released his hold and let her fish her bag for her keys. She finally found her keys and she turned around to bid her goodbye and once again caught his intense gaze. She couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you contemplating whether or not you should kiss me goodnight?"

"No, I've already decided." Owen firmly responded as he simultaneously wrapped one hand around her petite waist and took his other hand to grab the back of her neck. With Cristina tightly secured in his grasp, he crashed in on the lips that were begging to be kissed.

Cristina had mistakenly thought she would be ready for a goodnight kiss. The kiss, once again, took her for a surprise. The strong arms that wrapped her waist and neck allowed very minimal room for movement on her end. Frustrated, she squirmed in his grasp, freeing her hand to grab the back of Owen's neck and responded by eagerly meeting his lips.

Owen was pleasantly surprised at her response to his kiss. She was aggressive and forcibly kissed back. He thoroughly enjoyed tasting her lips that were slightly cold and salty from the ice cream. The friction from the kiss generated quick heat to instantly warm and soften her lips, and his as well.

They responded to each other with such desire and lust both did not expect. He held onto her tiny frame in his arms as if she was the only thing left in the world. She clung to the back of his neck as if her life depended on it to survive.

Bodily needs could not be ignored as he felt pressure building from his groin. He groaned as she opened her mouth to take the kiss to the next level. He knew any longer, he would break his decision to take things slow until they were sure. He slowed the kiss down as he gently sucked her lower lip instead of meeting his tongue with hers. He slowly pulled back, leaving a last lingering kiss on the soft plush lips.

Cristina separated a bit dazed and confused from the kiss. His kisses spoke volumes at how much he wanted her and her intuition was affirmed by the bulge that formed during their kiss. Yet, he politely stopped from taking it to the next level each time she made the advance and she was thoroughly confused as to the reason why.

* * *

"Cristina!" Meredith's voice rang loud down the hallway.

"Morning." Cristina walked briskly towards the resident's lounge.

Meredith gave a large cup of piping hot coffee to Cristina. "So?" she excitedly asked.

Cristina accepted the cup. "Christ it's hot," she complained as she pushed the door to the resident's lounge.

"I brought you coffee so now you have to share," insisted Meredith.

"Mmmm…" Cristina thought briefly. "He's an amazing kisser."

Meredith flopped down next to Cristina. "And…?" She was met with a blank stare by Cristina. "Oh, c'mon. You have been a nun for more than 6 months by now. You expect me to believe you didn't accept anything more than a kiss?"

Cristina knew Meredith, out of anyone, could empathize with how much she missed and craved sex. "Yup, he just respects me that much," chirped Cristina.

"Ohhh," Meredith let out a giggle. "You've been shot down, haven't you? Boy when someone is in a dry spell, it's a drought."

Cristina waved off Meredith's comment with a smug look. "At least I'm getting something alright."

* * *

Cristina stepped out of the shower in tank top and pajamas and toweled her hair dry. After putting on her night crème, she flopped on her bed to massage her swollen foot. It was a long work day with an 8 hour surgery sandwiched between her morning and night post-ops. She turned the TV on for background noise and reached for her Blackberry that was blinking red. Cristina opened her messenger to see a text from Owen. _'What are you up to?'_ She checked the time and saw he sent it 30 minutes ago.

She contemplated what to respond. She was too tired to think of a flirty text or to play coy. She decided to keep it plain, her usual text style. _'Just got home. You?' _She sent the message and rolled over on her back massage her feet and calves in the air. A moan escaped as she felt her body relax. Her body relaxing allowed for her mind to relax and she let it venture to an area she tried to avoid thinking about. Relationships, love and whatever that was that was going on between her and Owen.

She refused to let herself think about Owen so she had bare minimal read on what he wanted from her–from them. There was definite chemistry that was electric when their eyes, hands, mouths met. But she reminded herself that he broke off the engagement couple of months before her and Burke decided to call their relationship off. Well, that was to put it nicely. Burke disappeared from her life in a blink of an eye.

Cristina sighed. She asked herself many times what went wrong but ultimately she knew there was no right answer. _'What the hell am I doing with Owen. Do I want to be in another relationship with another attending?'_ she pondered. _'No, hell... Does Owen even want a relationship? What is he in this for?'_ A heavy sigh came out of Cristina as all the unanswered questions and mindless thoughts wandered hopelessly, causing a low thumping headache.

The red blinking light distracted her once again. _'Got out of surgery a minute ago and just wanted to see if you were around. Didn't see you today.'_

Another reason why new beginnings were always a nuisance to Cristina. She knew there was no point in reading into it but her mind was already there wondering the deeper meaning behind the text. Was he saying he missed her and that he wanted to see her? Did he want to come over because he sure as hell didn't last night. Or did he merely want to say goodnight?

Cristina was still debating what he respond when Owen sent another message 10 minutes later. _'I still owe you dinner at my place. Are you free tomorrow?'_

Another bold question. _'Sorry, can't. I'm on-call.'_ she responded.

'_That's okay. I'm on-call on Monday. Hard to match up schedules. Can you give me your Tuesday night?'_ Owen again immediately responded.

Cristina smiled. She had to admit he was sweet in his own way. _'Yeah, I can pencil you in for next week.'_ She joked, pretending she was busy as a bee when she normally had no other plans other than Joe's after work.

'_Hm. It's that hard to get a date with you on the calendar? Then can I ask in advance for the rest of next week?'_ Another text came through from Owen. Cristina laughed seeing he knew how to take her humor and even going even further by joking good humouredly. Well, she hoped he was joking.

'_You can be my back up when my other dates fall through,'_ she texted. Now, she was relaxed to respond to his flirty texts. She now found herself waiting for his response.

'_We're going to have much to talk about if there are other dates planned.'_ She couldn't help but read it with a more serious tone, making Cristina's head throb once again.

'_What are we teenagers? Stop texting and go home.'_ She tossed her phone aside and settled in to fall asleep to _'Two Hours of Advanced Coronary Artery.'_


	10. Chapter 10

Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to proofread this chapter. I'm posting it anyway because if I don't do it now, I won't be able to get to it until Monday. If anything is really bothering you, please let me know, I'll go back and fix it. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes.

* * *

"Hi," Cristina walked into the room, checking her pager out of habit.

"Tired?" Owen asked, stretching out his hand holding the coffee to Cristina.

A smile fully spread upon seeing the large coffee in Owen's hand. "Thanks" Cristina took the coffee and planted herself on the couch directly across from Owen. She sighed as she sipped her coffee. "What?" she asked, noting Owen's eyes that were boring into hers.

"Nothing." Owen revealed a reserved smile before adding, "It's been awhile since I saw you."

"Yeah…" Cristina trailed off.

"Come here," Owen patted the empty space next to him on the bed and beckoned Cristina over.

Cristina briefly hesitated before unfolding her legs and moving over to Owen. She scooted back and leaned against the wall, making Owen follow suit. "How's your patient doing?"

Cristina burrowed her eyebrows in frustration and disappointment. "He's okay for now… He's okay, no thanks to me though."

Owen silently looked at Cristina willing her to continue.

"It's just…" Cristina shrugged in defeat. "Today I almost killed a man because I couldn't do a stitch."

"Almost, Cristina." Owen sat back against the wall and joined in looking ahead with Cristina. "You are a resident and you are learning, which is your job right now. You can't learn if you don't make mistakes. Mistakes are how you learn."

"Yeah…" Cristina offered a nod but still could not shake off the feeling of incompetence she felt during surgery. And it didn't help to hear the harsh critique she received on her lack of general surgical procedures from her mentor, Dr. Hahn.

Still seeing the discontent on her face, Owen crossed his arms to figure out what he could say to make her feel better. "Make mistakes, learn from it, and move on. You can't dwell on something you never had knowledge of. And you're good. You are an excellent surgeon. You only have room for growth from here."

Owen's words impaled Cristina like icicles piercing through her chest, clarifying her doubts on her surgical skills. Owen's affirmations were exactly what she needed to hear on both personal and a professional level. And for once in her life, she felt okay admitting to someone she made a mistake and she was wrong because she simply didn't know. She smiled, providing the most emotion she could muster out at the end of a tiring day.

Owen relaxed, proud he could bring a smile to her on such a long day. "Excited for tomorrow?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Am I finally getting my meat or are you showing off another one of your restaurants?" Cristina sneaked a look at Owen as she took a large sip of the coffee.

"You're getting your steak medium rare," answered Owen as he recalled her preferred meat. "And I ran out of restaurants to show off, anyway," chuckled Owen.

* * *

Cristina dragged a long sip of the Malbec at the dining table.

"Was it worth the wait?" asked Owen as he sat back in his dining chair to appreciate Cristina's beauty.

"You should quit running the ER and work behind the kitchen at Cacchia di Rome is what I'm thinking." Cristina relaxed in her chair finished with her meal. She absentmindedly swirled the wine in her glass while cocking her head to glance at Owen from an angle. She crossed her legs and coyly held her gaze.

Owen always appreciated a forward woman. A flush spread throughout his body as Cristina looked at him so brazenly, narrowing her eyes to hint the night towards a dangerous territory. Unable to resist showing his appreciation of her boldness, Owen pulled on the bottom of Cristina's chair towards his seat, tugging Cristina as closest as their chairs would allow. He leaned forward and steadied himself by grabbing the sides of her seat and leaned forward to claim her red lips stained from the wine. Like a magnet drawn to its force, her lips puckered out tasting the same wine on his lips.

Owen's hand snaked around to her lower back and he pulled her closer to him, putting in too much unnecessary strength. The pull dragged Cristina too hard and too fast, almost to the near edge of the chair. Cristina grabbed his thigh to support herself from falling to the ground and pulled apart. "Whoa," she exclaimed. "Trying to take me to the ground or something?"

"Crap, sorry." Owen apologized stabilizing Cristina back in her chair. He wasn't aware of how much force he put into pulling Cristina as his desires clearly were taking over any sense of judgments.

"I'd rather take this to the bedroom." Cristina hinted tugging at his hands.

Owen quickly pecked her lips before averting his gaze. "Let's take this to the couch. I rented a movie to watch tonight."

"Yippee," Cristina chirped sarcastically under her breath and allowed Owen to tug her onto his comfortable sofa.

* * *

No sooner after they settled in with Owen's arms securely wrapped around Cristina, her eyes–heavy with sleep and wine–closed as she gave herself to the comfort of Owen's arms.

'_Mmmmm,' Cristina moaned in pleasure. 'Owen…'_

_Owen let his hands wander along the sides of her velvety body as he placed kisses below her ear and trailed down her neck. _

'_We're going to be late,' Cristina giggled. _

'_Quick and dirty.' Owen huskily whispered, stopping Cristina from getting out of the bed. 'I'm the head of ER for a reason, after all.' _

_Cristina laughed as Owen hungrily went back teasing her neck. 'Wait, what time is it?' Cristina turned around to the dresser to reach for her phone._

_An arm came from behind and tightly grasped her waist, molding her body perfectly into his. But the hold was much too familiar and a sinking feeling took over Cristina. 'I missed you,' Burke whispered into Cristina's ears, holding her closer than before, almost melting her body into his. 'Cristina… where did you go?' he asked._

_Cristina could not find the strength to turn around to face Burke. Why was Burke saying these things to her when it was all too late, why was she in his arms and why did it feel so right? She needed to get out and started struggling, demanding him to let her go…_

Cristina jerked her elbow straight into Owen's stomach as she woke herself wide awake.

"Oww," Owen playfully feigned hurt. "Running away from me in your sleep?"

Cristina, now fully awake, looked at the arm and stroked the short blonde curls on Owen's arms. _'It was a dream. It was a dream.'_ She told herself over and over. She untangled herself from Owen's hold and sat up.

Owen leaned up against one arm get a better look at Cristina. "Are you okay?" he asked, noting her rigid body. He reached for her thigh with the other hand.

Cristina's hand stopped his hand before he could touch her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Bad dream. Sorry I fell asleep," she apologized. "I should go."

"No, it's okay. Are you sure you're okay?" Owen asked, full with concern. "I know a thing or two about bad dreams. You can stay a bit longer, you know."

"No," refused Cristina as she rose. "I should go back to my place anyway. I'll see you tomorrow." She looked behind once to bid goodnight to Owen and she left without a word or another look.

Owen scratched his head in confusion, not sure what came over her as she woke up startled, body rigid and refused to be comforted by Owen.

* * *

"Owen!" Callie greeted her friend at the door. "Come in, dinner's almost ready."

"Hello," Owen walked in the apartment. "Is Cristina here?"

"Hello to you too, Hunt," Mark greeted Owen from the couch. Owen acknowledged Mark with a nod.

"No, she was called in to surgery at 5. Sorry bud," Callie gave a comforting rub on Owen's arm. "Don't think your girlfriend can make it for dinner."

"Whoa, you guys are an item already?" Mark suddenly shot up from the couch.

"It's not like that," defended Owen. "I-I don't really know how she feels about me… or what she's looking for."

Callie handed Owen a beer. "Well, you know what you want, right? Talk to her."

"I don't think she's ready for that conversation," Owen took a swig of his beer, remembering her odd behavior couple nights back. "Unless you know something that I don't."

"Sorry, Owen." Callie plated the dishes as Mark helped set the table. "She's very private, barely talks about herself and trust me I probed about your dates but she refuses to talk about you. But I'm sure it's because we're friends."

Despite fully being aware Cristina was a private person, Owen could not help but feel a twang of disappointment she had yet to mention him to Callie. He reminded himself to just shrug off his disappointment as he knew the road to Cristina was never going to be an easy one.

* * *

Rough days seemed to be an ongoing vicious cycle for Cristina. She found herself fighting with Alex at 4:30am for an appendectomy and of course as luck would have it, Bailey chose Alex to assist. Her day was spent aimlessly until right before the end of her shift, Hahn paged her needing an extra hand in the OR. Now, six hours later, she was finally out at 11pm. Almost to the end of her energy supply and stomach growling, angry at her for not feeding it since noon, she contemplated spending the night in the on-call room until she realized her place was only across the street after all. She trekked her tired body across the street.

Cristina fiddled with the lock and pushed open the door to her apartment. A waft of home cooked meal greeted her as her stomach rumbled in response. She tossed her keys in the basket and looked up to meet three pairs of eyes on the couch, one of which elicited a flurry of warmth inside.

"Hi," Callie, Mark and Owen greeted Cristina.

Cristina noted the many beer bottles and dishes in the sink. "Seems like I missed the party," she noted.

"Did you have dinner?" asked Callie. "I made chicken piccata. There's leftovers."

"Thanks. Gonna change." Cristina made her way into the room and closed the door behind her. She took her jacket off and carelessly let it drop on the floor. She flopped down on her bed, clothes and all, body too tired to do anything more than lay still. After resting for 10 minutes, she found the strength to lift her body off the bed. She tossed her hair up in a messy bun and changed into comfortable thin grey sweats and a soft black long sleeve. She made her way out of her room and into the kitchen, where a plate of hot food greeted her.

"Owen heated it up for you," Callie spoke a bit louder than necessary.

"Um, thanks." She acknowledged Owen for the first time across the room. He offered her a smile and rose to make his way towards Cristina.

Cristina found a bottle of Stella in the fridge and settled herself on the counter. Owen took a seat by Cristina as he looked at her eating.

"What?" Cristina bluntly asked.

"Nothing." Owen simply answered. "How's the food?"

"You ask like you made it," replied Cristina. "Hey Cal, food's great." She shouted towards their living room.

"Something the matter?" cautiously asked Owen picking up on Cristina's curt answers.

"No." Cristina stuffed her mouth with chicken.

"What's with your answers?" bravely asked Owen.

"Nothing. It's how I always talk." Cristina said it so matter of factly, it took Owen by surprise. The words stung as he couldn't ignore the implication that their conversations are usually sparse and few in between. He had thought they were making headway in their relationship but things started getting awkward again after the night she left in the middle of the movie. Now she was distant and aloof, making Owen feel like he was back to square one.

Cristina was tired and agitated, and the last thing she needed to do was have Owen stare at her eating. His attempts at having a conversation was far better suited if he stopped giving her mixed signals and he made it clear whether he wanted her or not, as she was clearly done with making out on the couch as if they were still in high school. She needed more than that at this point in order to move on from Burke and start a new relationship.

"Um, Sloan and I are calling it a night." The tension that lingered in the kitchen transpired quickly into the living room. Callie and Mark excused themselves into Callie's bedroom leaving Cristina and Owen alone in the kitchen.

Cristina clenched her fork at her bad turn of luck. She had no idea what Owen was doing at her place tonight and whether or not it even had anything to do with her. But all she wanted to do was eat dinner and sleep, with no talking and no thinking.

Owen, unsure of how to act, kept his silence, giving Cristina time to continue the conversation. All her attention was devoted solely to the food and fully getting the hint that she was in no mood for any type of conversation, he rose. "I guess I should leave you to enjoy your dinner. If there's anything that's on your mind, you know where to find me."

Cristina nodded to acknowledge she heard him and with her nod, Owen left the apartment. The thud from the closing of the door rang much too loud for Cristina's liking. She wondered if she did owe him a conversation, maybe explain why she was having a bad day and didn't want to talk.

She grabbed another beer and relaxed on her couch. With food in her stomach and mind relaxed with the help of alcohol, guilt trickled into her senses as she realized her obnoxious behavior towards Owen, who willingly heated her food and tried to keep her company so she wouldn't have to eat alone. She repaid his efforts by being sour, taking out her long and tiring day on someone who just wanted to make it better. She cared too much for her own good and suddenly felt an overwhelming need to apologize. But Cristina did not apologize or call just to say sorry. She was determined to do it her way.

* * *

"Cristina–" Owen's mouth stayed opened, surprised at her surprise visit. "Wha–um… You're here…?"

Cristina smoothed her hair down and awkwardly stood in the doorway. "Can I come in?"

"Of course, of course." Owen stepped aside to lead her in. "I wasn't expecting you."

'_Really, you didn't get my text, call, email that I'm coming down here to beg for forgiveness?' _Cristina rolled her eyes with her back turned to Owen. It was becoming annoyingly endearing how he had the tendency to state the obvious. He made it way to easy for snaky comments.

"Did you want to talk?" Owen led Cristina to the couch and sat besides her.

He was still in his olive button down shirt and dark blue jeans. Cristina gathered he did not wash up and just came home to relax on the couch. He smelled faintly of beer mixed with musky cologne. Cristina leaned closer as Owen quizzically looked at her for a response.

She delicately ran her fingers through his facial hair and leaned closer to kiss him once–_'I'm sorry for being such a bitch.' _She drew back and kissed him again–_'I had a crappy ass day but I felt much better as soon as I saw you on the couch.' _She grabbed his face and kissed him a third time–_'Thank you for making me feel something after I swore off on love.' _She raised her hips and crawled over to straddle Owen and hungrily went in for a fourth kiss–'_I like you and I want you.'_

Owen felt too large in his own skin as he let Cristina roam his face and plant intimate kisses that were new yet felt so right at the same time. He moaned as he felt her leg slide over to straddle him as her kisses became hungrier, filled with passion and greed. He took a sharp intake as he could not control his hands, wrapping them around her waist to roam. He was losing his senses second by second. It was only when Cristina reached below to take it to the next level did Owen realize what they was happening between them. He couldn't do this without making sure with her first. He stopped her hands from going any lower. "Wa-wait." He slightly panted. "Cristina, wait." He grabbed her hands back away.

Cristina's pressed her hips to Owen's as she no longer had control of her hands. She was sure she wanted him.

"Wait. Stop." Owen spoke more assertively.

Cristina stopped her movements and pushed Owen's chest to create a distance. She grilled Owen a look.

"We need to talk," Owen firmly spoke, sure that a conversation was needed before they took things to the next level.

Cristina's whole body tensed as she took in his words. It did not occur to Cristina she could be putting herself up for rejection by showing him how sure she was she wanted him. Was this his way of saying I'm not sure about this and we need to take things slowly?

"Are you serious?" Pissed, she hurriedly slid off Owen's lap and shot him a look from above. "You've got to be kidding me."

Confusion took over Owen at Cristina's reaction. "Hold on," he quickly reached out for her hands but she snapped them away from his reach.

Cristina stormed out of the apartment.

Stunned for a second, he momentarily halted but came back to the situation at the loud bang of the door. Immediately, he ran after Cristina, who was heading towards the elevator.

"Wa-wait!" Owen ran to Cristina. "What's going on here?"

Cristina furiously turned around. For a fraction of a second, she had fooled herself into thinking she could do the whole relationship thing with Owen. "Before I was able to do the hot and cold thing. But now, Owen, no." The elevator door opened and Cristina stepped inside. She jabbed 5 as she looked up to see Owen's speechless and shocked expression. "Don't." She held her hand up stopped Owen from coming closer as he made a motion to continue this interaction. "Leave me alone."

Owen froze at her words. Something went terribly wrong and he was unable to point what the issue was. He wanted to talk about them. Just talk before they moved onto the next step yet she stormed off, furious and set on never seeing him again. Owen stood in front of the elevator, replaying the events in his apartment over and over until he lost track of time.

* * *

Owen decided to give some time for Cristina to calm down and give her time to be alone, which is what she seemed to need. He gave one day for Cristina to think, two days for himself to assess and by the third day, paged, called and texted all to no avail. Being relentless paid off as he finally managed to track her down, grabbed her arm and pulled her into the nearest supply closet.

"What are you doing?" Cristina wearily asked, slightly annoyed.

"I don't care if you are done. I'm not." Owen, equally annoyed and mad, spoke up. "I still have no idea what happened that night but you can't just call it off like that."

"Oh, really?" Cristina mocked Owen. "I can't because it's up to you whether or not the mood suits you?"

"Stop talking in circles and tell me what you're mad about," demanded Owen.

"It doesn't matter," stubbornly refused Cristina.

"It might not matter to you, but it matters to me. So I would appreciate if you can talk to me because I do care…" Owen spoke in a defeated tone and leaned against the door, body slightly slumped.

Cristina noted the defeat and tiredness in his voice. And once again, guilt flooded her as she realized she was being difficult without giving him a reason. She finally spoke after a minute of silence as his pleading eyes finally got to her. "I don't know what you want."

"Want?" Owen repeated not understanding her question. "I want you. I want us to work out," he offered the best answer to her vague question.

Cristina shrugged. "Could've fooled me. I thought I was just your make out buddy."

Owen was inching closer and closer to figuring out her complex personality. "Is this what this is about? That I'm not serious about you, about us?" Owen was shocked to realize how many doubts Cristina had about his feelings for her. "Cristina," he spoke, almost in a stern tone. "I want you. I want you more than you can know. But I can't move forward with you right now. I can't–no, I do not want to be your rebound."

This time it was Cristina to be shocked at Owen's claim. "Who are you to tell me you are my rebound? And if I remember correctly, you broke off your engagement not too long before I did. Who's to say you are not in this just to forget your fiance? What gives you the right?" Thoroughly taken aback and offended for Owen doubting her intentions, she spoke loudly and brashly.

This was the first time either ventured into their past relationships. Owen finally understood that both had doubts for each others feelings but never bothered to clear. Well, on Owen's end, he was almost scared for Cristina to admit that she was not over Dr. Burke and that Owen was just a distraction but hell, he was sure from the beginning of his intentions and feelings for this frustrating woman before him. But he needed to face reality and make her face reality whether or not she was ready to move on.

"Cristina…" He straightened up against the door. "Are you sure of what you feel for me? Because I am. I want you. I want a relationship with you. I want to sleep with you. I want to wake up with you. I'm sure but are you?"

"That's just a bunch of words Owen. You either want it or you don't. I don't do complicated." curtly spoke Cristina.

"I beg to differ. You are complicated," sighed Owen. A moment of silence passed between them, the conversation having gone back and forth without either of them meeting in the middle. Finally Owen made move and stepped one foot closer to Cristina, forcing her to take a tiny step back. "Look… I don't want you just right now." Owen reached out and stroked her arm that were folded across her chest. "I want to be around forty years from now."

Cristina blinked twice, making sure she heard him correctly, making sure this was really happening. Never having been the one accustomed to such declarations, Cristina could not decipher the feeling that gathered in the pit of her stomach. Normally, she would have easily taken the drop of her stomach to mean a huge red flag–that he was forcing his way in when she was not ready; that he was expecting something from her now that he expressed what he felt. But her instincts told her it was the exact opposite of wanting something more. Owen was holding back and waiting for her to come around when she was ready.

Seeing the shocked expression on her face, Owen decided he had said enough and it was for her to understand his words. To seal the deal on his words, he closed the gap between them and ran his hands on her arms. He halted and learned forward to softly peck her lips once, then ever so slightly twice for good measure. "I'm here. I'll be here until you are ready. Take your time." Owen gave one last lingering look to Cristina and left the closet prepared to give her ample time to make the next move.


	11. Chapter 11

How awesome is CO storyline this season (well so far anyway). So many squee worthy scenes in the last 4 episodes! It's a great time to be a CO fan, isn't it? Well, thanks for keeping with my story and I hope you enjoy this chapter. And as always, thanks a bunch for the reviews!

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

'_Cristina's home if you want to come up and talk to her.'_ Callie texted a heads up to Owen.

'_Thanks but no thanks. She'll talk to me when she's ready. Wanna come down for a drink?'_ Owen invited Callie over, feeling an immense need for a drinking buddy.

'_Kk.'_ Callie grabbed a sweater from her chair and threw it over her head. She closed the bedroom door behind her and found Cristina mindlessly flipping through the channels tightly wrapped in a blanket.

"Hey, I'm going over to Owen's for a drink." Callie looked at Cristina to gauge her reaction, which remained expressionless. "Wanna come with?"

"No," Cristina answered pressing the remote unnecessarily harder than before.

"Oookay," Callie responded, noting how her actions seemed to betray her blank face.

As soon as the door closed behind Callie, Cristina tossed the remote control on the coffee table and stared blankly at the ceiling above.

* * *

"I see you had a head start. Everything alright, Hunt?" Callie took a seat besides Owen, noting the 6-pack already out on the table.

"Yes and no," Owen grumpily replied reclining back in his seat as he popped open his fourth bottle of beer.

"You two are so frustrating. Just come up and talk to Cristina. She's flipping through reality shows upstairs and you know how little she thinks of those shows." Callie had a hard time understanding why the two were making themselves suffer when one just had to make the first move. And from her knowledge of Cristina, that move had to come from Owen.

"No, I told her I would wait. Now if I had known it would take longer than a week, I would have taken a different approach, but I told her to take her time." Owen filled Callie in on his last words. "You know I gained 5 pounds since last week."

"Mmm no kidding." Callie raised her eyebrows, pointing at the beer and cartons of leftover Chinese food on his kitchen counter. "See, this is exactly why I don't do the whole relationship with Mark. We have fun, we go on dates and we have amazing mind blowing sex. It's much easier that way."

"You're telling me. Shit. I should have taken her up on the offer when it was on the table," Owen couldn't help but second guess his decision to wait to sleep with her as each day passed without Cristina in his life. The minimal taste he got of her during their short time together was engraved in his memory, haunting him day and night.

"Okay so you obviously called me over for penny for my thoughts. I'll say it straight up," said Callie. "You over thought the situation. You should have gone with the flow and let things take its own course. It's a complete wonder that she even started dating after Burke, you know that?"

"Well, I didn't know that then, did I," Owen expressed in frustration. "I knew what I wanted but I couldn't go on without knowing how she felt about me."

"Again, you're being a girl here," advised Callie. "And Cristina is probably the last person in the world to be a girl to."

After a moment of silence, Owen spoke in a tired voice. "Callie..."

"Yeah?" asked Callie.

"Go home." Owen popped open another bottle. "You're not helping."

"Anytime Hunt. Thanks for the beer." Callie rose and headed for the door. "Oh, any last words you would like me to share with Cristina?"

"Tell her I'm getting fat," joked Owen, but as soon as the words escaped his mouth, he quickly retracted his comment. "I'm kidding!" Owen yelled from the couch. "Tell her whatever you want. Just don't make me look pathetic."

"Oh, I think you already rang the bell on that one yourself. Stop eating and stop drinking!" Callie gave her last words of advice and left Owen's apartment.

* * *

Callie flopped down besides Cristina's curled body on the couch. "You are driving the ginger downstairs mad. Talk to him already."

"Oh, I wasn't aware we were in couples therapy," answered Cristina as she resumed flipping through the channels.

Callie snatched the remote control from Cristina to get her attention. "Seriously. What is wrong with you? Owen's a great guy who is willing to go a great distance for you. He's funny, caring, hot, responsible, smart and did I mention hot? And trust me, I can keep going on. What else can you ask for?"

"Sheesh, if he's that great, why don't you go for him instead?" quipped Cristina, irked Callie refused to drop the conversation. She was doing plenty of thinking on her own and she surely did not need to hear the reasons from Callie. She knew she was already convinced but somewhere in her dark and twisty mind, she was searching for the self destruct button, trying to convince herself nothing good can come out of being in another relationship with another attending.

Callie rolled her eyes, frustrated at how oblivious Cristina was. "It may not be obvious to you Cristina, but he only has eyes for you."

* * *

"You still haven't spoken with him?" Meredith cried out in disbelief.

"Not you too..." muttered Cristina as she sat herself at the bar. "I just want to make sure I know what I want before I speak with him."

"Wow..." Meredith took a long look at Cristina, who remained pensive in her thoughts.

"What?" asked Cristina.

"I would have never imagined you to be in this situation after Burke. You have come a long way, you do know that right?" Meredith was shocked to see this Cristina, who was seriously contemplating a new relationship after her failed relationship with Burke.

Cristina sipped her drink. It was true she frequently thought about how quickly they will set the sheets on fire if they ever got that far. But she knew it was more than sex deep down inside. For the first time in her life, she felt at ease doing nothing but talking to someone, sharing her thoughts and thoroughly enjoyed the time getting to know him. And being a great kisser most definitely did not hurt.

Suddenly she knew. She missed him. "I gotta go Mere." Cristina rose and left in a hurry.

* * *

"Isn't this a pleasant surprise?" Owen's heart dropped at the sight of Cristina before him as he did his best to maintain his cool.

Cristina stepped inside without a word and turned abruptly to face Owen. "Do you have anything to eat? Callie's not home and I don't want to wait for takeout."

"Yeah. I have leftover pasta from the night before. Just give me a minute to heat up the sauce and make you some fresh pasta." Owen hurriedly took Cristina's jacket and hung it behind his door, putting in his best effort to make her feel at home. "Want to watch some TV?" asked Owen while reaching below for a small pot.

Cristina walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "I'll keep you company. It's the least I can do."

"You should have given me a call. I would have had it prepared." Owen suggested while blasting the stove full heat in order to boil the water as fast as possible.

"I wasn't planning on stopping by," answered Cristina.

"Well…" Owen covered the pot and turned around to find Cristina sitting on top of the counter. "I'm glad you did." He crossed his arms as he leaned against the sink, taking in the image before him. "I missed you." Owen couldn't help but express as she looked perfectly placed sitting on top of the counter in his kitchen. She was definitely the missing piece in his life.

Cristina distracted herself by picking off the label on her beer as she dropped her gaze to her lap. She nodded and spoke barely above a whisper. "Yeah…"

Owen emptied sauce into a small pot and turned the stove on low heat. "Hope meat sauce is okay," he made sure while stirring the sauce, making sure it didn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

Cristina lost herself for a second at Owen's concentration of perfecting something as simple as heating up sauce. She had missed him tremendously in the last week or so and only in this moment did she realize what she was taking for granted during the time they were getting to know each other. Wordlessly, she unfolded her legs and slid off the counter. She placed each foot forward, barely making a sound as she reached where Owen stood with his back towards her. Slowly, she wrapped her hands around his waist and squeezed her arms around his strong waist.

Owen felt an arm snaking from behind and his hands immediately stopped in its stirring motion. His eyes opened widely as his body froze from the completely unexpected touch. Then a grin crawled over his face and he acknowledged her by gently caressing her wrist. But before Owen could turn around to face Cristina, the pot cover rattled against the rim signaling the water was boiling.

Cristina quickly unwrapped her arms and turned away to start setting the table. She was half thankful for not having to see his reaction but at the same time disappointed she might have just missed a make out session with the man who easily set her body in flames with mere kisses.

/

"You didn't have dinner tonight?" asked Cristina as she noted the late time.

"No," Owen lied, not having wanted Cristina to feel uncomfortable eating dinner alone. He needed food as a distraction as he had also remembered the last time he tried to keep her company, her face was etched with agitation at his attempt in making conversation.

Owen took both plates to the sink and gave a quick rinse over the plates and stuck it in the dishwasher. He turned around and led Cristina to the couch, thankful she wasn't insisting on leaving after dinner.

"Goodness, I'm full." Cristina rubbed her stomach, feeling the carbs kicking in in full effect. "At least I know you'll never starve me."

"No," smiled Owen, happy to see her pleased. "There's plenty more where that came from, I promise."

"Let's lie down. I need to stretch out my stomach." Cristina tugged on Owen's arm, guiding him to stretch out next to her.

Owen quizzically looked at Cristina as he took his position. "You're an odd woman, you know that?"

"Excuse me?" Cristina adjusted on her side as she turned to figure out Owen's confused expression.

"You don't talk to me for more than a week and the first thing you ask to do is to lie down. That's odd, to say the least," Owen honestly voiced. The longer Cristina took to approach him, he was leaning towards she was going to tell him that she wasn't ready for what he wanted from them. Yet, she showed up asking for food and was now asking to lie down with her.

"No, I'm not being weird," defended Cristina. "I'm just digesting."

"Mmhmm." Owen pushed away the errant curl that fell across her forehead as she shifted to fold her hands together. "So…?"

"So what?" repeated Cristina.

"You're really going to make me ask you why you decided to show up tonight?" asked Owen. "And I swear if you asked me to lie down with you and you're going to tell me you don't want this..."

"Ha… no, that's just evil." Cristina reached with her thin fingers to play with Owen's facial hair. "I missed you," she admitted, fingers gently scraping against his jaw line, while holding his adoring gaze.

Owen's body filled with relief as his shoulders and neck relaxed at Cristina's declaration. Well, as much of a declaration that he was ever going to get from her. He grinned, happy at her words and also at the tickling sensation she was arousing in his jaw line. Finally feeling comfort at the fact that she was indeed here to stay, Owen tugged the small of her back towards him and secured his hold on her by resting his elbow on the small of her back and letting his hand trail up right below her neck.

Cristina kept her gaze as she finally relented. "Owen… I want to be with you and I guess I can understand where you're coming from. So I'll wait too." She let her eyelids drop as the words came much easier than she could have ever imagined.

"Now, that wasn't so hard was it?" Owen ran his thumb along the side of her face and dipped to gently kiss Cristina on her forehead. "Thanks for coming over tonight Cristina," whispered Owen as he followed suit and closed his eyes, finally feeling they just took a step in their relationship.

* * *

"So..." Owen smoothed his hands down his thighs as he waited for the engine to warm. "You're really going to think about going to Al's BBQ?"

Cristina squirmed a bit in her chair. She had said that to Al at the restaurant to be courteous, but she knew she was not ready to be introduced to Owen's friends at such an intimate gathering.

Owen noted her hesitation. "It's okay if you're not comfortable in going. I understand," said Owen, trying to ease the pressure off from Cristina.

"I'll think about it." Cristina had become so accustomed in having a private relationship with Burke she had a hard time adjusting to Owen's Seattle life where he had childhood friends that invited him to such outings.

"Cool." Owen put the car in reverse to pull out the parking lot. "No pressure," he added again just as a precaution.

/

"How was your date?" Meredith signaled Joe over as Cristina pulled into the booth.

"It's been forever since I saw you Cristina!" chirped Izzie.

"What date Mere–he got paged before we could get to the fun part and we don't see each other because I make it a point not to," said Cristina in one breath.

"Breathe Cristina," Mere shoved her beer towards Cristina. "By the way, the last comment was a bit mean."

"Sorry, I get mean when I'm in heat." Cristina looked at Izzie. "Next round's on me."

"Whatever, I'm used to it," Izzie responded. "So still nothing?"

"Yup. Izzie over here is probably getting more action that I am at this point. Which is tragedy at its finest," expressed Cristina in utter frustration.

"I think it's sweet that you guys are waiting. So romantic." Izzie stared off at the distance with glazed eyes. "Plus, when you two finally do the dirty, the sex will be _hundred_ times better."

"Screw the wait," Cristina raised her hands in the air. "I'm thinking of just tying him in bed and having him my way. Make him beg for it. He deserves it."

"Haha, so evil Cristina," laughed Meredith. "Poor Owen. He has no idea what he got himself into with you."

Cristina wickedly smiled and raised her eyebrows. "What can I say girls, it's hard not to want this," replied Cristina as she seductively moved her hips.

"Guess it's not that hard for Dr. Hunt," teased Izzie. "Oh, wait, or was it McCristina'sCrush?"

Laughter filled the table as Izzie and Meredith were getting a huge kick out of seeing Cristina lose her cool when it came to a certain trauma surgeon. Cristina tried holding her best 'shut up or die' expression until she couldn't help but give in to the corners of her mouth tugging upwards, reveling in the new giddiness sensation that came with this new relationship.

/

"I'm sorry," a woman's voice called out from the lobby. "Can you please hold the door?"

Cristina stuck her foot out to hold the door for the petite blonde who hurriedly rushed into the elevator.

"Thank you." The woman's eyes were bloodshot red and brimming with tears.

"Floor?" Cristina calmly asked.

"Um..." The woman pulled out a sheet that was torn in half, scribbled with the address. "304..." she mumbled to herself.

"That's third," Cristina pressed the 3 and 5, allowing the elevator door to close. She quietly observed the flustered woman before her.

The elevator stopped on the third floor and the woman hesitated looking left and right while stepping out.

"It's on your left," Cristina called out while leaning against the wall with her arms folded. She sure as hell knew where Owen's place was by this time.

"Thank you," the woman turned around to acknowledge the lady who guided her to her destination.

Cristina kept her eyes on the woman until the closing of the door broke off their gaze. Her mind went blank as her fingers took a life of it's own, anxiously tapping against the elevator wall.


	12. Chapter 12

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

Owen picked up his pace at the sight of shiny curls bouncing down the hall while doing his best not to burn himself with the coffee in his hands. "Hey," he called out. Cristina showed no signs of hearing him. "Dr. Yang," he addressed more directly, hoping to get her attention.

Cristina did her best to keep her steady stride despite hearing Owen's voice. She estimated she had about a quarter of the hallway left before she could escape into the residents' lounge. Unfortunately, her body stopped in motion when she heard Owen call out her name. Cristina groaned internally before slowly turning her body to face Owen. "Morning."

Owen broke out into a tired grin seeing Cristina's equally tired face. "Can I steal you for a second? I brought breakfast." Owen held up the coffee and wiggled the brown paper bag in his grasp.

Cristina checked her time to make sure she wouldn't be late. She was early as usual. She reached out for the coffee, freeing up one of Owen's hands. "Thanks. Breakfast in the hallway. How quaint." Cristina nervously looked down the hall, making sure no one was there to catch their interaction.

"The on-call rooms are most likely full. Let's sneak into the lab." Owen led the way to the lab down the hall.

Silently, Cristina followed behind, wondering if he was going to mention his distraught guest the night before.

* * *

"What's wrong?" asked Owen noting Cristina stood still outside the door, halting to take the step inside.

"Uh, nothing." Cristina shook her head, shaking out the memory she had inside the lab. She had christened the lab room before with Burke during their early stages of sleeping with each other. _'Should have stuck to the hallway,'_ she thought, regretting Owen had lead her to this lab room.

"Hope you're okay with a croissant." Owen pulled up a chair for Cristina.

"That's fine. You know I like my butter." Cristina sat down and tore apart the paper bag, revealing two croissants. "Mmm smells good." She broke a piece of the croissant, silently munched and washed it down with coffee. Owen's presence, freshly roasted coffee and buttery croissant pushed her previous memory into oblivion without much effort on her end. She felt her body finally loosening up. She took a long look at Owen who was more reticent than usual. "You look like hell," she observed.

Owen gave a weary smile and ran his hand through his messy hair. "Um, thanks. Guess the new night cream isn't working too well," he joked.

Cristina let out a carefree laughter at the thought of Major Owen Hunt lathering on night cream before bed.

Cristina's laugh reverberated through the room like bell chimes ringing to a sweetly scented summer breeze and hopelessly tugged on the strings of his heart. "It's okay. One beauty is enough in this relationship," flirted Owen as he reached with his right thumb to remove a crumb from the corner of her pink mouth. He licked his thumb and smiled teasingly. "Messy… but still a beauty."

"Hey!" Cristina pretended to be offended. "That was just one crumb."

Owen raised his eyebrow, plastering on the best smug expression he could muster, looked down at her black shirt that was generously speckled with croissant flakes.

Cristina followed his eyes and was appalled to find most of her croissant on her shirt. "It's flaky!" she argued. "Your fault for getting a flaky croissant."

"What's your excuse for the trail of clothes that lead to your bed?" countered Owen.

"Maybe the dresser you put together collapsed and I have no where to put my clothes," Cristina retorted.

"Did it really?" Owen alarmingly asked.

Cristina shook her head as she carefully flicked the flakes off her croissant before putting it in her mouth. "No, I'm just messy," she mustered out between bites.

Owen laughed as he reached across to pick off the pieces of flakes on the black shirt.

Cristina moved back from Owen's reach. "Leave it. I'm gonna get more on it anyway."

Owen smiled and nodded. He pushed his leftover croissant towards Cristina and focused on drinking his coffee. He felt his face turn stoic as he reflected on last night. "I actually didn't get a wink of sleep last night."

Cristina looked at Owen and allowed him to continue. She made up her mind the night before not to ask Owen about the woman. She was curious, for sure, but refused to come off as jealous or pushy. If he wanted to tell her about the visitor, no, if it was necessary to confide in her, she believed he would. "I had a hard time sleeping too," she admitted.

Owen highly doubted the reason for Cristina's inability to sleep had much to do with Burke showing up wreaking havoc on _the _night he was looking exceptionally forward to. "So why didn't you pick up?" asked Owen. "I called you last night. Twice." He called her once before he reached his apartment and again after Beth left. Both calls had gone to voicemail.

"I missed them." Cristina lied. In truth, she was avoiding his calls, not ready to hear what Owen was going to say on the other line. She looked at Owen and she could tell she was not quite convincing.

Owen decided to drop it and not push further. He had a hunch she was screening his calls but thought better to just let it go if she was not willing to admit to it. "My patient died when I got to the hospital so I was hoping to continue our date." Owen admitted. "I had a night planned for us last night…" Owen trailed off.

"Oh?" Cristina asked in a small voice. "Sorry it didn't go as planned." Cristina had a hard time grasping where Owen was going with his story.

"Yeah, sorry. Last night didn't go quite as planned," Owen grumbled in a husky beat down voice. _'How can you not tell me about Daddy!'_ Beth's cries rang loudly in Owen's thoughts. _'Candles? Flowers? Wine? Dammit—five years Owen! How long could you have possibly known __**this **__woman?" _Louder cries echoed in his thoughts as he suddenly had a throbbing pain in his temple.

"Next time," offered Cristina, noting Owen's stressed look on his face.

Cristina's sweet voice broke Owen's solitary thoughts. He came back to the now and fell deep in Cristina's soft brown eyes. A pang of guilt pierced his left chest. A back and forth debate ran through his mind like a ping pong match debating whether or not he should say anything about last night. The argument for not wanting to break this quiet moment with Cristina won over.

"Crap. I gotta go," Cristina checked her watch and saw she was 5 minutes from her rounds. "Thanks for the breakfast," she rose crumbling the paper bag.

"Wait," Owen rose with Cristina and grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving. With his other free hand, he dusted the front of the shirt, lightly grazing her chest in the process.

"Hey, hey!" Cristina lightly swatted his hand away with her free hand. "Looking is free but I charge for touching, you know. And it's at a much higher price than coffee and croissant!"

Owen chuckled. "Yes, ma'am," he called out as Cristina disappeared into the bright halls for another day at Seattle Grace Hospital. The door slowly creaked shut and darkness once again filled his thoughts thinking back on the night before.

'_Beth, I am sorry for your father. He didn't want me to tell you and it was not in my position to. I am truly sorry for your father but no, not for this.' Owen pointed to the candles and wine glasses on the table. 'I don't owe you an explanation for who I am with and who I bring home.'_

'_Oh?' Beth let the tears stream down her face. 'Because don't tell me she wasn't in the picture when you were with me. Don't you dare lie Owen Hunt!'_

_Owen hated it when Beth called him by his full name. Oftentimes she used that tone with her students and she had a habit of using his full name when she knew she was right. There was only so much he could do to shield Beth from the truth. 'Beth…' he started in an even tone. 'I meant every word when I told you why we shouldn't get married. Our issue has nothing to do with Cristina.' He bit his tongue cursing himself for letting her name slip. 'She was engaged when I met her.'_

'_Oh, Cristina is it?' Beth didn't get Owen's words slip. 'So how romantic. She called off her engagement as soon as she saw you were single. She was really waiting for that opening wasn't she?'_

_Owen seethed inside seeing Beth talk about Cristina in such a light manner. But he knew there he needed to stop feeding into the fight. Beth was upset about her father hence her reaction to Owen's date that was spelled out in his living room. 'Like I said. I don't owe you an explanation. I'll see you tomorrow at the hospital and I promise you I'll do everything I can to make sure he gets the best treatment. That is the most I can do for you right now.' Owen grabbed his keys from counter. 'C'mon. I'll take you home.'_

* * *

"Mr. Whitman admitted last night with inguinal hernia. Diagnosed with colorectal cancer three years ago. We have ordered previous test results from Columbia hospital. Dr. Yang here will take your father to run CT with contrast." Owen informed Beth on her father's condition.

Beth nervously nodded and choked back a sob. "How bad is it, Owen?" she asked in a small trembling voice.

"I can't say." Owen answered honestly. He stole a quick look at Cristina to gauge her reaction. Her expression showed no interest or confusion despite the fact that it was obvious they were acquaintances, to say the least, by the informality of their addresses. "CT will be the best way to assess his current condition."

"I'll order the scans right away," Cristina spoke up. Her desire to leave was largely due to her uncomfortable state of feeling as a intruder in the room.

"Thank you, Dr. Yang." Beth wiped her eyes and forced a small smile. "Looks like I'm racking up my reasons to thank you."

"No problem." Cristina waved her hand dismissing Beth's acknowledgment, fully aware she was thanking her for last night as well. "Happy to help."

Owen carefully studied both women and soaked in their words. It was clear they were not just talking about Cristina doing her job as a doctor and Beth thanking her as a patient's daughter. There was something more to their conversation that Owen was not aware of. He couldn't help but ask, "Did something happen I'm not aware of?" Owen threw out the question in the air and turned his head to fully look at Cristina, demanding with his eyes for some sort of clarification.

"No," responded Cristina as she simultaneously shrugged while snapping the chart closed and tucking it under her arm. "I'll be back to take you up for CT," she informed Mr. Whitman and made her way out of the room.

Owen's not quite satisfied eyes followed Cristina's motions out of the room. It was Beth's voice that snapped him back to the room. "Cristina and I met last night in your elevator. She told me where to go."

Owen tossed a blank look to Beth and he gave a quick nod of his head to show his appreciation for her clarification. Unsettled he didn't get to explain the situation himself and Cristina having been left to piece it together, he quickly excused himself as well. It wasn't hard to find Cristina as she was standing by the nurses' station waiting for the scheduled CT time.

_*Ahem*_ Owen awkwardly cleared his throat as he approached Cristina. "Why didn't you say anything this morning?" he asked.

"There was nothing I wanted to say," answered Cristina, still looking down at the chart while burning a hole through the papers scrawled with messy ink.

'_Okay,'_ thought Owen as he assessed the situation and carefully plotted his next words. "Well, you must have questions. So ask." Owen opened the floor to Cristina, giving her the power to lead the conversation.

"I-" Cristina chewed her lip as she pondered the situation. Rationality took over as she decided it was not worth having this forced conversation. "Look," Cristina finally raised her head to meet Owen's eager eyes. "It's not my place to ask."

"Yes," Owen spoke in a harsher tone than intended. He softened his tone a bit as he leaned closer to encouraged Cristina to open up. "Yes, it is."

Cristina sighed as she took a step back to create personal space for herself. "If there was something you needed to tell me, you would have this morning. You didn't say anything so I don't think we have much left to discuss for now." She snapped the chart and handed it over to the nurse. "Page me when we're ready to go up to CT," she ordered as she tucked her pen into her coat and turned on her heels taking large strides to create distance from Owen and his past.

"Cris–" Owen's voice wavered off as Cristina was done discussing the issue. For now, at least. It bothered Owen the most that she wasn't irked or angry but rather withdrawn and closed off for further discussion. Owen cursed his luck under his breath figuring he should have said something in the morning given the likelihood she might be assigned to his case. But he knew if he had a choice to go back and change their morning interaction, he wouldn't do anything different as the only thing he wanted to do was just be with her in their own little bubble. But he was figuring out their bubble was not so safe from pokers and prodders peering in at their newly developed relationship.

* * *

"So… do you care?" asked Meredith, while chomping on her apple.

"The last thing I'm going to do is ask who is she and why was she there last night." Cristina popped a fry in her mouth. "I'm way too cool to be petty."

"You still didn't answer me." Meredith relentlessly probed. "Do you care?"

"Care? As in am I jealous?" Cristina snorted at the notion. "Please, woman sings lullabies to two-year olds for a living while I crack open chests and save lives. She has nothing on me."

Meredith pensively chewed the rest of her bite. "It's perfectly okay to be bothered by this situation Cristina. When Addison showed up, I drank lots and lots of tequila and did the whole pathetic 'choose me, love me' speech. I cared and you can care too."

Cristina scoffed. "You realize a Shepherd showing up calling you out for sleeping with _her _Shepherd has no relevance to plain I-call-my-dad-daddy-Jane making a reappearance."

"Yeah, I know that," Meredith defended herself. "But still you don't know why she showed up and what they talked about. You still barely know this guy."

"Quite a lashing I'm getting for having a little faith in a guy." Cristina grumbled, annoyed Meredith refused to drop the case.

"You, me—we don't do trust." Meredith softened her voice, wanting desperately for Cristina to see that she was merely looking out for her. "I'm your person and I don't know this new guy you are dating. So I will play the bad cop until I'm sure he is good for you."

Cristina shook her head at Meredith's protectiveness. It was true she had little to no interaction with Owen so she had no idea of knowing Owen despite the fact that his large, literal and figurative, presence could not even hurt a fly in front of Cristina. He had been nothing but gentle, sweet, kind and patient in dealing with her short temper and impatience. "Fine, you want to get to know him?" Cristina dared to ask. "Clear your schedule next Saturday."

* * *

Cristina walked briskly into Mr. Whitman's room and was surprised to see Owen already in the room. "I just got paged," she informed Beth. "I'm going to take your father up to CT."

Beth nodded. "Owen informed me."

"We'll be back shortly." Owen wheeled Michael out of the room.

"Don't you have a trauma room to run?" quipped Cristina as she found herself trailing after Owen as he took over the task of pushing the gurney.

"Just some quick tests, Michael," Owen informed Mr. Whitman making sure he was well informed of the next steps. "There's a bigger situation here that needs my attention." Owen addressed Cristina as they waited for the elevator.

"I have Mr. Whitman covered," Cristina answered tight lipped, irked Owen was not trusting her with a patient he obviously had some sort of acquaintance with. "An intern can do this for heaven's sake," she couldn't help but distastefully add.

"I know that," Owen acknowledged in such a forward way it took Cristina by surprised. "That's not what I was referring to. We never finished–"

"Got it," Cristina cut Owen off, not wanting everyone in the elevator to get any hints of their relationship.

Owen nodded and led Mr. Whitman out of the elevator and into the CT room.

* * *

"Page me when this is done," Cristina asked the technician and left the room, expecting Owen to follow. She peered into the lab next door and seeing it empty, entered.

"Okay, for your peace of mind, let's finish this," Cristina stated as she hopped on a lab stool and swiveled to meet Owen. Owen's body listlessly slouched as he leaned one arm on the counter, the other gently grazing her thigh. He needed the comfort of Cristina's touch to reassure himself that this situation will only strengthen their relationship. However, it wasn't enough as he felt Cristina tense and sit up straighter at the unexpected touch of her thigh. Realizing the dire need to soften her up a bit, he did so in the best way he knew how. He stood tall and cupped her jaw with his right hand and slowly leaned in for a soft lingering kiss. It was short and sweet but to the point.

"Mmm. So case closed?" commented Cristina as Owen drew his lips away from her face.

"Not quite," Owen answered with a small smile. "You're not going to ask so I guess I'll just tell you everything." Owen started, "Beth's my ex–no, she's my ex-fiance."

Cristina nodded.

"I was with her for 5 years, two years before I entered the military. We met through mutual acquaintances and she provided a lot of comfort and stability throughout those years. I had nothing to complain about the relationship so I did what I thought was the next logical step; I proposed about two years ago," shared Owen.

"Okay," Cristina urged him to continue.

"That's a very long engagement if you ask me. And for good reasons. We were obviously not meant for each other and I called off the engagement end of last summer," Owen leaned back on the counter and he crossed his arms, remembering their unpleasant conversation.

Cristina did a quick calculation and assessed that was around the worst time of her life. Burke was hiding his tremors from the hospital and Cristina was risking everything as an intern to save Burke's career.

"She came to my place last night after her father was admitted to the hospital. He fell ill and she sought me out after finding out he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer 3 years ago. That's why she came by last night. She was scared and rightfully angry I held the information from her." Owen straightened his posture and he stood to face Cristina. "I didn't want to overload you with all this in the morning when you looked so darn happy with your croissant and coffee," he spoke earnestly.

"Okay." She agreed the morning wasn't the best time to address the visit. It amazed Cristina how it came so naturally for Owen to read her like a book and gave space when needed and cornered when necessary.

"Okay?" curiously asked Owen. It bothered him tremendously how Cristina shared so little of her whirring thoughts.

"Well, I was hoping more of a dramatic storyline where she shows up demanding she's with your child or you are secretly married to her or she finds out her father is actually _your _father…"

"Wh-what?" exclaimed Owen with incredulous eyes as he chuckled at her ridiculous plots.

"And then we start yelling at each other. I yell how could you, you tell me I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Then we rip our clothes off of each other and we…"

"Ah… Don't finish that comment," Owen cut Cristina off. "This is venturing to sex again, isn't it?" he asked in a slightly disappointed tone.

"No." Cristina reassured Owen. She dug her fingers into his jean pockets and tugged him closer. "I'm saying. I don't care about your story with Beth. I didn't need to hear an explanation because I trust you. But thank you for sharing anyway."

"Oh," Owen managed to utter out, deliriously happy at her forwardness and slightly annoyed at being kept in distress until this very moment. "You could have told me that in the morning you know and saved me from all this stress," Owen gently argued.

"Yeah, I could have," Cristina acknowledged. "But I wanted to make you suffer for making me toss in bed all night," Cristina teased.

"Hm, sorry." Owen ran his thumb along the side of her jaw, caressing the soft skin with the most gentle touch his rough thumb could offer. "Next time, just come and ask me?" Owen pleaded with his eyes. "And, please, don't ignore my calls even if you're upset," Owen couldn't help but address this as well. "What we have here, between us. It's good and I want to make sure we get this right." Owen leaned forward and caught her lips with his lips. He added soft pressure to caress her lips with his.

"O–," Cristina answered in between kisses. "–Kay."

Just as Cristina grabbed the back of his strong neck to intensify their kiss, her pager loudly beeped announcing Mr. Whitman's CT scans were completed. They tore their lips apart, both eyes glaring at Cristina's pager. Cristina rose from her stool. "I can take Mr. Whitman back. You need to go and make sure we're still a Level 1 Trauma Center." She turned the handle on the door and opened it ajar. "Oh, and text me where Al's house is?"

"You're coming to the barbecue?" Owen couldn't help but ask a bit more excitedly than his usual manhood would allow.

Cristina rolled her eyes, finding it endearing how thrilled Owen's looked at the possibility of her attending the barbecue. Deep down she knew the ramifications of attending a gathering filled with Owen's friends but she was ready for the next step and knew Owen would appreciate her effort.

"Okay," beamed Owen.

Cristina left with a sly smile, almost feeling sorry for Owen. If his friends were anything like Al, she had no problems mingling at the barbecue. However, little did Owen know he was up for the most intense interrogation of his life by her person—the one and only—Meredith Grey.

* * *

* I am so so sorry for such a late update. To be quite honest, I really lost a lot of steam and this chapter was exceptionally hard to complete. I had half of it written for weeks and couldn't get the flow to complete it, as this chapter is pretty much the filler chapter for the final arc of the story. Finally I did it though! I am adamant about completing this story so rest assured, I will not abandon this story. Hopefully, now that I got this chapter out of the way, the rest will come easier (and much quicker). Thank you for all the reviews and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	13. Chapter 13

*Disclaimer: Grey's Anatomy belongs to Shonda Rhimes & Co.

* * *

"Okay, do you have everything?" asked Meredith while shuffling through her bag for her car keys. "Is he there already? Did you text him that we're leaving? He knows I'm coming, right?"

Cristina clutched her Blackberry and took a silent breath to calm down. "Are you trying to be annoying? Because you're acing with flying colors. A plus and a real diamond tiara for Miss Annoying here." She texted Owen as soon as they left the hospital but had yet to get a response. Cristina looked at her phone and willed the red light to flicker that very second.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." After much rummaging in the large tote, Meredith extracted her car keys and unlocked the doors. "Dr. Hunt's kind of intimidating. I'm just nervous, that's all."

"You're nervous?" exclaimed Cristina as she dropped her hands to her side in disbelief. "YOU are nervous?"

Meredith silently got in the car. Experience told her ignoring Cristina was the best way to handle her at times.

"YOU cannot be nervous. Seriously, I'm doing more than fine on that front all on my own." Cristina hurriedly latched on her seat belt and took another look at her phone. "WHY ISN'T HE ANSWERING?"

"Definitely, no help needed there." Meredith started the car letting the sound of the engine break up the agitation in the car.

The phone buzzed in Cristina's hand alerting her attention to the red light. "Finally," Cristina breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, he said he's there, it's fine for us to come now and he hopes we're hungry. Something about Bobby Flay coming over for a throwdown?" Cristina recited Owen's text to Meredith. "Who the hell is Bobby Flay?" She muttered under her breath.

"Oh, you know him," Meredith answered distractedly while signaling to make the right turn out of the parking lot. "That guy on TV."

"Ohhhhhh," Cristina dramatically slammed her palm into her forehead. "How did I not connect that Flay is _that_ guy on TV! I looooove that guy—I joined his fanclub last week!"

Meredith giggled. "Shaddup. You know what I mean."

"Wait, is he that short guy who wears that ridiculous clock that is bigger than his head around his neck?" Cristina had a vague image of Callie's viewing of Flavor Flav one night.

"Uh, Bobby Flay is a chef, not a cartoon. What kind of TV do _you_ watch?" Meredith answered while shooting a bewildered look towards Cristina "Anyway, does Owen know I'm coming?

Cristina sighed in exasperation. "It's not a cartoon and Callie, not me," Cristina defended herself. "Yeah, he's known that you are going to be there. Stop asking me that."

"You mean a real person wears a clock on his _head_ instead of on their wrist? What's the point, you can't even tell the time from that angle." Meredith stopped at a stoplight. "Do they need us to bring anything? Anything else he said?"

"Not on the head, around. And I think it does tells real time," clarified Cristina as she skimmed the message once more, eyes resting on the last bit a second longer than necessary. "Nope, they're good. Nothing else." No way in hell was she going to share that Owen had texted, _'Come now before they all think I lied about my hot new girlfriend,'_ and not a second later had he sent that text another came through,_ 'btw-missed you today. lots.'_ Cristina had responded, _'missed u too. kinda,'_ Cristina had teased back.

Meredith easily noted the small smile that played around the corner of Cristina's mouth as she looked at her phone. She smiled along Cristina, happy to see her Cristina-happy.

Just as Cristina jammed her phone in her jacket, a buzz made her pull it back out. _'Grrr. You should play nice today. I have many on my side tonight.'_ Involuntarily, the muscles in her face tensed as she slid her phone in her pocket without replying. Many on my side. Friends of Owen all waiting for his new girlfriend to arrive. Cristina's thoughts fast tracked as panic she adamantly tried to keep at bay fought its way through. Girlfriend? When did we become an item? A couple? Barely anyone knows we're dating at the hospital. What did he tell his friends about her and how much did they know about their relationship when she herself couldn't even define it? Cristina tried to take deep breaths to relieve the tightness in her chest. Agitated, she turned to Meredith, "Mere, this was a mistake. Let's turn back."

"What?" Meredith snapped her head for a second to look at Cristina and turned her eyes back on the road. Seeing panic in her eyes, she knew Cristina was currently having a minor freak out. "Aw c'mon. It'll be fun. When do we ever do anything social outside of the lunchroom and Joe's? Don't be crazy."

"You made me crazy," grumbled Cristina. "I was already kinda there and then you asked me a million question and you got me all jittery and now I'm going to throw up. Fine, then let's pretend you are the girlfriend and I'm the girlfriend's friend."

"No, then everyone's just going to think Owen is cheating on his girlfriend with her friend as he clearly cannot take his eyes off of you," stated Meredith. "I wish I had someone who looked at me like that," sighed Meredith.

'_You do,'_ thought Cristina but decided against voicing her thoughts. "Dammit. I don't do boyfriend, I don't do family, I don't do friends. I only do the guy!' exclaimed Cristina, frustrated at herself for finding herself in too deep too early in the game.

Meredith giggled as she smugly pointed out, "You know what the funny thing is. You're not even doing him but here we are on our way to see his friends."

"Shit," Cristina pulled out her phone as she quickly pulled out the Google map app. "Make a left three blocks down."

* * *

Worried it was taking Cristina and Meredith longer than expected, Owen stepped outside only to find Meredith's car already parked in the street. He stepped up his pace and caught the two ladies sitting in the car, just catching Cristina take a long swig from a juice bottle. "What in the world?" Owen tapped the window of the car as he peered in bemused. He heard faint sounds of giggling as Cristina scrolled down the window.

"Hi!" she cheerily greeted Owen.

"What are you two doing in the car?" Owen bent one elbow and leaned into the car to take a closer look at their holdup. He noted brown paper bags and an small plastic bottle of vodka. "Did you two—" Owen's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "Prega—you're pregaming?"

"It was Cristina's idea!" Meredith cried out and burst into a fit of giggles.

Owen turned his gaze to Cristina's flushed face. "Oh, you've seen Mere and I down a bottle of tequila in one sitting. This is just to settle the nerves," reasoned Cristina, swirling the cranberry juice bottle in her hand. "Want some?" she offered.

"Uh, no, thanks." Owen refused as he looked at Cristina. "You're nervous?" he asked.

"Yes, but so what? Mere's nervous too," Cristina refused to go down alone. She batted her eyelashes feeling a bit silly for needing to loosen up and darted her eyes looking for a spot to focus on.

Owen rested his fingers under Cristina's chin and softly stroked her pink cheek with his right thumb, unable to hide the adoration in his eyes for a split second. "Okay, there's plenty of booze inside. Let's go." He jerked his hand and arm out of the car and opened the car on Cristina's side, pulling the resistant Cristina out of hiding. "Meredith," Owen met Meredith halfway around her car. "Drink all you want tonight, I'll take you home and we can pick your car up tomorrow or something." Owen held his hand out.

"Oh, thanks," uttered Meredith as she high-fived Owen at an awkward angle due to the flat level of his palm.

Owen turned a bright shade of red as he coughed to mask his misconstrued action. "No problem. And… keys please," Owen kept his open faced palm in the same location.

This time it was Meredith to turn it up a notch by turning a shade redder than Owen, "Oh…Y-you wanted k-keys…n-not a high-five," she stammered as she dropped her keys in Owen's hands.

"HAHAHA," Cristina popped in between the two now beet-faced doctors. "One awkward introduction down, only ten more to go!"

* * *

"Okay!" Al clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. Everyone was immersed in private conversations, all happy and full from ice cold beers and juicy tender burgers. "Let's play a game. Gather around."

"Al's a bit of a game feign. Only child syndrome," ribbed Ralph as he leaned closer to Meredith. She laughed and edged closer to Ralph in response.

Cristina shrewdly kept her eyes on Meredith and Ralph as Meredith got drunker and drunker with each beer. "That wasn't even funny," she pointed out to Owen.

"Oh, let the kids have some fun," loosely responded Owen as he leaned back in his chair, discretely drawing shapes on the small of her back.

Cristina squirmed in her chair and she leaned back into her chair, forcing Owen's hand out of her chair. "Please, you're just happy she's too busy drinking and flirting to interrogate you tonight."

"Maybe," Owen pulled Cristina's chair closest as possible to his and draped his arm over her chair. "Besides, she looks like she's having fun. Are you?" Owen leaned forward to probe her to meet his eyes.

"Yeah," Cristina nodded and contently met his eyes. She relaxed and gave a genuine warm smile. "I like your friends." Owen's friends came from various sectors in the professional field. All her life she was surrounding by doctors or those in the field of medicine. She was unfamiliar with a language outside of academia and enjoyed sitting back to revel in interesting talks that floated within one space.

"They like you too," Owen's eyes lit up as he gave a gentle squeeze above her knee. He was genuinely glad to hear she was enjoying her time despite being quiet in conversations.

"They have to like me," Cristina joked. "You're the Army dude that runs the ER at the hospital. You only need half a brain to know not to mess with you."

Owen chuckled. "Funny hearing that from the one person that loves to mess around with me."

"Who, me?" innocently played Cristina. "I think you have wrong person here. Because you know that I am the nicest, kindest, sweetest girlfriend you ever had." '_Shit_,' Cristina chewed the inside of her cheek at the slip up of referring herself to his girlfriend. _'Shit, shit, shit. Please just ignore that last part,'_ she chanted in her head.

Owen's lit eyes flamed even brighter forming a foolish grin to meet the crystal blue glare reflected from his eyes. Owen angled his head and leaned closer stopping until he was only a hair length from right under her ear. In a low velvety voice, he softly murmured, "Well…if I have the wrong person, I think I just might have to cheat on my girlfriend because I just found myself the love of my life," and ever so cautiously, he wet his lips before pressing a light kiss right under her ear, running shivers down the entire length on the right side of her body.

"…so whoever did it at the oldest age has to drink!" Al's voice broke into Cristina and Owen's moment and they tore away from each other to bring their focus back into the group. "I'll start. Age you lost your virginity!"

* * *

"So my place or yours?" Ralph drawled into Meredith's ear wrapping his arms tightly around Meredith's slim waist.

"My phlacee." Meredith drunkenly slurred as she motioned towards Owen's car. "Major Doctor Hunt will take us."

"No, your own places," Owen placed a firm hand on Ralph's shoulder. "Not tonight, buddy," he resolutely stated, forcing Ralph to turn his head to Owen. Ralph gave one more push with his hungry eyes and Owen firmly stood his ground and shook his head. "Next time. You have her number."

Owen stretched out his hand for Cristina to hold and she slid her small hands, immediately engulfed into Owen's large palm. His other arm was snaked around Meredith's waist, making sure she didn't lose her balance while walking.

"You get two and I get none," petulantly complained Ralph as Jane kicked his behind towards her car. Ralph took a slight tumble before righting himself. "You're too drunk to even stand. What makes you think you can even get it up?" chided Jane. No words were held back between Jane and Ralph as they knew each other since they were in diapers.

"I'm a man!" whined Ralph.

"Says that man sucking on pacific with drool down his bib," scoffed Jane. "Night Meredith. Looking forward to seeing you again Cristina and drive save Owen!"

/

"Major Doctor Hunt is mean," protested Meredith from the back seat.

"It's either or, not both," corrected Cristina as she turned her head to make sure she was still buckled.

"Trust me Meredith," Owen glanced through the rear-view mirror. "You're going to thank me tomorrow."

"She's not going to remember any of this tomorrow," Cristina chimed in her keen observation. "But thank you for managing my friend and yours."

"Drunken one night stands were just something I could never understand," said Owen.

"Hm," pondered Cristina. "So you never had a drunken one night stand?"

"No," confidently answered Owen. "I had drunk sex, sure, but knew I wanted it before the drinks kicked in."

"So," Cristina contemplated. "You never had meaningless sex?"

"Define meaningless," Owen asked Cristina to spell it out.

"Ha, I got you," Cristina beamed feeling triumphant.

"No, I'm serious," answered Owen.

"You're always serious Dr. Hunt," drawled Meredith from the back seat.

"Go to sleep," instructed Cristina.

"I never had sex with someone who I didn't care about. Sex with someone I'll never met again? No. Casual sex, yes." Owen honestly answered. "How about you?"

"Never mind," Cristina not so slyly escaped from answering Owen.

Owen smirked and shook his head. "Actually, I don't think I want to hear it right now."

"Good, you're not going to like what you hear." Cristina was glad they were on the same page.

"Cristina had mad sex with Burke at the hospital like the first month," blurted Meredith, popping her head in between the driver and passenger seat.

"MERE!" Cristina yelled and she pushed Meredith's forehead back against the backseat. Owen looked at Cristina with almost a firm look Cristina was unable to decipher Owen's reaction on that little tidbit. Owen fixed his firm gaze on the road ahead.

"Ow…." Meredith rubbed her forehead and toppled over moaning in exaggerated pain.

Silence ensued in the car. Cristina debated placing her hand over Owen's hand that was now clenched tightly on the shift stick. Fearing her touch would be unwelcomed, she decided against and let Meredith's soft snoring take over the silent car ride.

* * *

*Fully knowing as a reader how frustrating it is to wait for the next chapter, I really do apologize for taking so long to update. I ran out of excuses but so sorry for being such a slacker on this story. Thank you for those who are still reading and following with the storyline. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and let me know what you thought of it. Thanks!


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